The Ninja of Water
by WaterNinja134
Summary: Kara Steel is Wu's first student, and she is somewhat content being his only student. With tragic memories from her past, she has trouble controlling her powers, befriending her sensei's new students, and even using spinjitzu. Over time and separation, she must learn to overcome the obstacles in her heart.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! I know I've been busy with my other stories but I decided to rewrite ****_The Ninja of Water _****because the new episodes have come out. In this version, a lot of things from my other story aren't here. I'm sorry in advance if you do not like it. This is the way I originally wanted it. **

**Remember to review!**

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**Chapter 1**

**The Other Ninja**

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The sun started to set upon Ignacia, a small village set on a rocky hillside surrounded by greenery. Several rice farmers did what they always did: farmed rice. However, they stopped, seeing two strangers enter the town. The first was an old man wearing a white kimono, straw hat, and holding a simple wooden staff. A white, long beard grew from his face.

The second was, well, hard for the rice farmers to identify. The human walked behind the old man with its hands folded behind its back. From where they were standing, and based on the shape of the figure, it seemed like a girl. She wore a thin, black suit that covered her arms and hands, legs and feet, and her entire face except the eyes. The strong, brown eyes didn't focus on anything except what was forward. In the sun, they almost flickered to a blue color.

The many people working in the field glanced at the Four Weapons shop, seeing what the two were headed for. Another man, at most seventeen years of age, stood by a table filled with coals and hammered down on a piece of metal. A sixteen year-old-girl stood a safe distance behind him, trying to watch what her brother was doing.

"To forge the perfect weapon…" Kai hammered the metal again, starting to make it shape into a sword. "…you must have the right metal, and plenty of heat." The teenager brought the heated metal over to a bucket and dipped it in. "And…presto! Ugh."

The sword was bent over itself. Nya laughed at her brother's error. "You made it too quickly. Be patient, Kai. If father was still here he'd say…"

"Yeah, yeah." Kai mumbled, bringing his sword back to the piping hot coals. "No matter how much fire you have, experience isn't something you learn overnight. That may work for you Nya, but I'm going to be a better blacksmith than dad ever was."

The old man who had just entered the village came upon the shop. The girl following him felt her entire body heat up the second she stepped into the shop. She saw the guy by the fire, feeling the heat more intensely. It was him. That was the one.

"Your metal is loud and heavy. Useful to slow one down, useless in the art of stealth." The old man said, tapping the metal suit with his staff. "All tools for a samurai, but nothing for a ninja."

"Ninja, ha. You're a long way from finding a ninja in these parts old man." Kai insulted. The girl took a step forward. "And the shop is called Four Weapons, not for browsing. Either buy something or go pedal your insults somewhere else."

"Huh? Too bad. Thought I'd find something…special."

Nya motioned for her brother to do something. Kai went to retrieve something, turning around once he found it, but all he saw was the figure standing near the doorway. Even the girl in the black suit didn't know where he had gone. Sensei Wu was standing there just a second ago, wasn't he?

Kai put what he grabbed back. "I'm sorry about that. Welcome to Four Weapons. What can I help you with?"

"Are you, Kai, by any chance?" She spoke firmly, glancing at his sister. "And, you're Nya right?"

"Um, yeah." The younger teenager responded. "How did you…"

Dark clouds rolled over the hills, causing all three teens to forget what they were talking about. Engines roared over the peaceful sounds of birds and flowing water. A skeleton army road bone motorcycles over the hills, scaring all the rice farmers in the village. The ninja regretted not using a weapon at this time. While Kai got into his armor, the girl dressed in black grabbed a sword from the wall and ran off, slashing at the living skeletons.

Kara worked quickly. She flipped over bone swords that the dead possessed, swiping at them until nothing remained. She wanted to use her powers, but it could hurt the others around her. The ninja kicked the legs of a skeleton and swung the sword at the head, knocking it down the village. When she turned around, she saw the two siblings fighting against them as well, looking like they were winning.

Kai poised the sword in front of the leader skeleton, acting like he was going to win. The bone man revealed his four arms to the male swinging at him until Kai fell on the ground and lost his sword. The metal weighed the human down, and Samukai spun all four bone swords closer to Kai. Kara went to go help him, but saw a golden tornado get in the way. It smacked into Samukai several times before stopping.

The skeleton looked angry, yet calmed down after seeing it was Wu, Garmadon's brother. "Wu, your spinjitzu looks rusty."

"Nothing like bone to sharpen its edge, Samukai." Wu remarked.

The skeleton saw something: the water tower. He threw all four weapons, aiming not for Wu, but for the leg of the tower. However, the old man was in the way until he twisted out of the line of fire, finally seeing what Samukai was aiming for. It was too late though. The water tower leaned toward Kai whose metal armor held him down.

Kara had to do it. "Ninja! Go!"

She acted out the steps she knew so well, forming a black tornado around herself. It moved quickly toward Kai, and the ninja grabbed the teenager just before the water tower hit him. As quickly as the tornado formed, she lost control. The black twister broke, sending energy everywhere at once. It hurt her, Sensei Wu, and Kai, leaving them unable to do anything for a few seconds.

"Lord Garmadon says take the girl!" Samukai shouted. A hand shot from the vehicle gripping Nya and pulling her back.

"Garmadon," Kara whispered, hearing the name.

Kai tried to rush after the motorcycles, but he was too slow, and the skeletons got away. "They took Nya."

"I told you." Wu stated, again hitting the armor with his staff. "Useless."

The male teenager grew angry. "You could've done something! You could've used your twistitzu or your tornadzu!"

"Spinjitzu." Kara corrected firmly, coming to her sensei's side. "It's spinjitzu."

"But you did nothing!" Kai approached the girl next, pointing his finger accusingly at Kara. "And you…Ow! Ow!"

Kara grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back until Sensei Wu told her to stop. She obeyed, only after pushing him away and crossing her arms.

"I'm going to get my sister back."

"Where they go, a mortal cannot. That was Samukai, leader of the Underworld, and if it's true he's carrying out orders for Lord Garmadon, then I fear things are worse than I could've ever thought."

"Lord Garmadon? Underworld? What's going on? What do we have that's so important to them! And why did they take my sister?"

"What's so important? How about everything in Ninjago itself."

Kara listened to the story that she had been told just after it had happened. She met Wu a couple a years ago, when she was nine, and he trained her to be a great ninja. He taught her to control her powers. But, as fate had it, she accidentally drank Traveler's Tea and was sent back in time. Kara made two new friends: nine-year-old Wu, ten-year-old Garmadon, and their father. They helped her get back to her own time, knowing her before she knew them.

Today, she should be twelve, but instead she's seventeen. Tomorrow's tea had also gotten into her system, making her five years older than she should've been. It didn't really matter, though. She liked being this way. It made her special. The only one she would miss was probably Lloyd, a little blond boy who would've been her age if the Tomorrow's tea was not inhaled.

Long before time had a name, Ninjago was created by the first Spinjitzu Master using the four Weapons of Spinjitzu: the Scythe of Quakes, the Nunchucks of Lightning, the Shurikens of Ice, and the Sword of Fire. Weapons so powerful, no one could handle all their power at once. When he passed, his two sons swore to protect them, but the eldest was consumed by darkness. A battle between brothers broke out, and the oldest was struck down and banished to the Underworld. Peace returned to Ninjago and the younger brother hid the four weapons, but knowing his older brother's ambition for power, he placed a guardian to protect them. And for fear for his own demise, a map for an honest man to hide.

Sensei Wu did not tell the entire story. He left out part of it, probably the most important part.

"That honest man was your father, the older brother is Garmadon, and I, need to find those weapons before he does."

"So, you're the younger brother, and you came here looking for the map."

"No, I came here for something greater: you. My brother is forbidden to enter this realm, so it is obvious he struck a deal with Samukai. If he finds all those weapons, even I will not be able to stop him. But you have the fire inside. I will train you to harness it, and become a spinjitzu master!"

"Look, I'm flattered you think I'm all that. But I need to find my sister, and not get involved in your sibling rivalry."

Wu jumped into the air, twisting several times before landing on Kai. Kara chuckled as her sensei said he wasn't ready to face his pinkie toe. Kai sighed in defeat, asking when they would start.

...

Kai struggled to climb up the mountain, almost falling off until the ninja dressed in black caught him by the hem of his shirt. Kara was also struggling to get up the mountain, but not as much as the male teen was. They both caught their breath, watching as Sensei Wu climbed by them like a spider on a sugar high. He was clearly in better shape than them, but the ninja shrugged and kept going, determined to keep up with her sensei.

Once Kai finally caught up, they entered the monastery. Kara heard the remark Kai made about learning to fight in a place of peace, but she ignored him, watching as the training course came up. Kai awed at it, jumping onto one of the wooden poles. It slowly sank under his weight, only to throw the teen into the air. Kara jumped on and off the same wooden pole, grabbing Kai before he hit his head on something. She put him on the ground less gently and jumped to the roof, wanting to watch what Sensei Wu did.

"Complete the training course before I finish my tea, and then we will see if you are ready." Wu stated. He got his napkin and cup, poured tea into it, dropped in a cube of sugar, and drank it. He jumped up and flipped behind a door. "Today, you fail. Tomorrow you will try again."

"Fail! But I didn't even start to…"

"Patience." The door closed, leaving Kai alone outside.

Well, he wasn't completely alone. The ninja sitting on the roof watching him kind of creeped him out. He didn't really know who she was, and he didn't even get her name. Kai sighed, not really knowing what had happened, and entered the monastery. He had asked someone to take his bags up the mountain, but the letter carrier was already on his way up the mountain.

About an hour later, after Kai had received his bags of clothing, he came back outside to practice. He found the girl still sitting on the roof. Actually she was lying down, looking at the clouds that went by. She was thinking deeply about something, but she didn't really know what to do about it.

The teen turned on the training course, catching the ninja's attention. She sat up to watch him try out the secret to learning spinjitzu. Kai jumped on a spinning platform, immediately knocked off by a cardboard cutout with an axe. Still, he got back on again, and fell at the same part, earning a scratch from the metal weapon that smacked him.

Kara had to admit, he did have the spark of flame needed by a ninja. She smiled as he became even more determined to pass the one part he was stuck on. Once, he actually did move out of the way in time, but was only hit by a cutout with an extended leg. The hot-headed boy groaned angrily, kicking the punching bag in frustration. Surprisingly, it swung far back. Kai smiled in admiration of himself, but was thrown onto the ground when the heavy item came back. Kara laughed, catching the teen's attention.

"What are you laughing at?" Kai asked rudely, standing up. "I doubt you did this thing perfectly the first time."

The ninja laughed once more, jumping down from her spot on the roof. "And I doubt that if the roles were switched you wouldn't be laughing." Kara smiled.

Kai sighed. "Whatever, just go back to looking at clouds." He started to walk back to the beginning, noticing that the girl didn't move. "What?"

"I wanna help you." She said, standing next to him. "You're pretty fast so you should be able to complete this thing within a week. You just have to practice."

"And…why are you helping?" The boy asked.

"Because." She answered. "You also have a lot of strength in your legs. You can complete this thing faster if you use a lot more jumping."

"Okay…" Kai replayed what the girl had said. He had strong legs? "But how do I get past the stuff I can't jump over."

"Oh, that's easy. On that spinning platform you have to dodge the axe guy, rolled under the one with the leg sticking out, or you can just kick them down. And when you get to the spinning shield with the two swords, you're gonna want to spin with them. Understand?"

Kai retained absolutely none of that information. "Uh…"

The girl chuckled. "Here, let me show you."

Kara started the training course at the beginning, kicking down two of the cutouts before jumping from each wooden pole to the next, not missing a step. She curled between the swords on the shield, spinning with them before jumping onto wooden poles bobbing up and down. They threw her high enough to skip a couple, letting her jump over two axes that had already tried to hit her. Within a few more seconds, she finished the course, her breathing heavy.

"If you can do it exactly, like that you'll be, fine."

Over the next three days, Kai failed to complete the training course before Sensei Wu finished his tea. He would only be about halfway through when the tea from the cup was gone, or when he would fall off at some part. Kara secretly gave him a wooden sword on the fifth day he would try, whispering something to him.

Kai had never actually seen the girl's face, but he was pretty sure that the ninja was a girl by the sound of her voice. It was higher than a guy's. He had yet to learn her name, but was sure that she would say it eventually. Often when watching him train she said that worrying about knowing her name was only a distraction. Kai didn't know how she knew what he was thinking, but he pushed out of his mind.

About halfway through the course, Kai threw the wooden sword, knocking the teacup out of Wu's hand. When the sensei had filled another cup, he looked for Kai, only finding the teen right next to him. "Is that one sugar, or two?" he asked smartly. "So when am I going to learn this spinjitzu move I've been hearing so much about?"

"You already have." Wu responded. "Your final test comes tomorrow. I suggest you get some sleep."

As the stars and moon slid overhead, Kara watched Kai train some more before he went to his own room. He brushed his teeth, Wu's words repeating in his mind. However, he knew nothing of three other ninja sneaking around outside. Their sensei had sent them to look for the map throughout Ninjago, but they had no idea he had already come back to the monastery. Instead, they found (or heard) someone else in their home.

Kara had decided to sleep on the roof with the cool breeze against her face and the stars as her protection. It felt nice too; just being herself as if nothing in the world had changed. But she wasn't nine any more. The girl was seventeen now. She pulled back the hood of her ninja mask, revealing brown hair with blond highlights. She never showed the rest of her face to the guys. She hated getting attached to people. Kara always kept her distance and never made any friends since her parents were killed. The only person who actually knew what Kara was exactly like was Sensei Wu. And, he understood how she felt about things.

Something fell outside the monastery walls. In panic, the brunette pulled her hood over her head and jumped off the roof, landing silently on the ground. With her keen eyesight, she quickly located three, black suited ninja sneaking into the monastery. She followed them, seeing Wu asleep, holding a covered katana in his hand. Kara chuckled, but grew quiet as she realized what her sensei had been through. His brother was consumed by evil. That was worse than him being dead.

Kai was pretending to fight someone with his toothbrush, not at all noticing that three strangers just snuck into his room. However, the ninja with the scythe dropped down, and that really caught his attention. They attack, only to be fazed by Kai's use of his toothbrush. Kara found that the three who had been trained more started off so sloppy. Then again, Kai was very resourceful. The tempered ninja used the distraction to climb up to the beams but was quickly knocked through the roof and onto the training course.

The three followed him, again distracted when Kai turned the training course on. They all lost their weapons, forced into hand-to-hand combat. Kara found that since all three of them were taking on Kai, he was bound to lose eventually. So, unlike other times, she decided to help.

The ninja who originally had the scythe, Cole, was about to land a punch before Kara jumped in. Cole growled under his breath and kicked. Kara, however, grabbed his foot and twisted him to the ground. "Is now really the time for this?!" he asked rudely. Cole swung his feet, tripping Kara, and gaining his own balance. The female ninja feet were knocked out from under her, but she landed in a handstand and kicked him in the face.

Zane, the ninja who originally had the shurikens, saw Cole in trouble and decided to help, leaving the last ninja to deal with Kai. Kara had pinned Cole, only to be knocked on her stomach by Zane. She laughed, much to their confusion, and used her strong arms to push herself into a flip over him. The male ninja managed to grab his two shuriken and throw one just as Kara landed on her feet. Both of them hit her, but she stayed strong.

_Just focus_, she thought to herself. All the power came at once. "NINJA! GO!"

A human sized, black tornado appeared where Kara was standing. It slid toward Cole and Zane, but something different happened. All of the energy came too fast. The tornado exploded, sending all five ninja flying. Kara, with her vision blurred, was unable to help herself. She hit the wall hard while the others just hit pieces of training equipment.

"Enough!" Wu yelled as he walked outside, seeing all of his students acting like children.

"Yes Sensei." Jay, Cole, and Zane said, getting into line and bowing respectfully.

"Wait, they're your students too?" Kai asked. "This was my final test, wasn't it?"

"Whoa, whoa." Jay interrupted. "You never said anything about a fourth. It's always three. Three blind mice, three musketeers. Three…"

Kara groggily stood up, feeling pain spread through her head. "In his defense…" She started, walking toward the light glowing from the monastery. "I was never told about you guys either."

"And you!" Cole pointed his scythe at her. "You don't even help any of us during training! You barely even talk to us! I thought we were on a team!"

"It doesn't help you to blame me." Kara stated. "First of all, I only helped Kai because…"

"What I think Cole is trying to say, Sensei…" Zane interrupted, trying to avoid any fighting. "Is that the three of us have trained together. We've become like brothers. But, what is the meaning of this."

"Each one of you have been chosen with your own elemental property."

Wu quickly used spinjitzu, whizzing past the four male ninja. They were changed into different colored ninja suits. Cole, master of earth. Zane, master of ice. Jay, master of lightning. Kai, master of fire. Each of them was soon to possess a Weapon of Spinjitzu, but first, they had to find it…

…

As night turned into day, the four ninja still pulled a cart along the path their sensei had commanded them to. Kai wanted to go faster, but the other three were being too slow. He hated the idea of a team. Everyone else was just going to slow him down. Kai needed to find his sister now!

Kara was running alongside them, not helping them at all. Her arms pumped at her side, and a grin was plastered across her face. She loved running; it reminded her of running water. It could always move so fast and no one was ever able to catch it.

The female knew why she hadn't gotten a new ninja suit. She looked down at the black one still on her. She had never been able to master her element so technically she was still training. Spinjitzu, something that these four could do, was still almost impossible for her to do. Kara could pull it off for no more than five seconds before all the energy exploded.

"So what's your story?" Kai asked, catching Kara's attention.

"What do you mean?" She responded, jumping over a bump in the road.

"How did Sensei find you?"

"Huh, oh. Well, um. It's a long story that I can tell you later."

"Have you noticed something with her?" Cole whispered. "What's with her attitude?"

"I believe she is trying not to hurt herself?" Zane gasped in between breaths. "Something has hurt her so she stays away from us."

"Well what makes her think we're going to hurt her?" Jay questioned.

"I think I know what Zane's talking about." Kai stated, bringing his voice level down. "She's trying not to become our friend because if something happens to us, she's just going to be sad."

"Well then why is she here?" Cole clearly didn't like Kara.

Zane tripped, quickly catching his balance. "Probably because we need her help."

Wu heard something. "Shh, stop!" The four ninja stopped abruptly at their sensei's command, but Kara ran ahead and slid into the sand, gesturing for the rest of them to follow. "The caves of despair. Samukai is close to unearthing the Scythe of Quakes. Remember, do not use the weapon for its power..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's too much for us mortals to handle." Jay interrupted. "Now let's chop stocky this lemonade stand. Cole, you got the plan?"

"I have a plan." Kara stated, pointing to a spot out in the dunes. "You should go get Kai."

Kara quickly followed Kai after being ignored by the other three. Samukai and his skeleton army were watching and digging into the earth, eager to find the first weapon. She snuck behind rocks and small rock huts, following the red ninja without being noticed by anyone. After looking behind, she saw that the other three were close behind. Kara rolled her eyes; they were just like typical guys.

One skeleton spotted Kai, and the female was about to do something when she saw a mining cart cover him. The skeleton came out with his bones twisted and placed in the wrong area. She snickered and snuck into the cave that was being neglected by the skeleton army. The path led to a cave that was completely opposite of where Samukai was looking.

Kara found Kai trying to push a giant stone away from a covering in the rock wall. "Why'd you avoid the map? You know that shows where the other weapons are, right?"

"I was gonna get it on my way out." Kai snapped, still pushing. "Now can you please help me?"

"I may not be the best person to tell you this," Kara started, "but making friends and working as a team is important."

A few seconds later, Cole, Zane, and Jay entered the cave. Zane had just rolled up the map and placed it in his ninja suit. "Before you race off again, you need to remember that we're a team." Cole stated.

"Yeah, whatever." Kai sighed.

With all five of their combined strength, the boulder was moved without any problems. They entered another enclosure, finding a stone statue of a dragon head with the first weapon of spinjitzu clenched within its jaws. Jay screamed his thoughts about the place, probably getting them caught, while Cole retrieved the weapon and wrapped it in a sheet. They got out with no problems, but soon stood face to face with Samukai and a whole lot of skeleton warriors.

Soon, the four males started fighting and doing their best to keep the skeletons from getting their boney hands on the scythe. They played a giant game of keep away, with Kara often being passed to as she was on top of a giant rock that took the skeletons forever to climb up. But, their luck didn't last. There were too many warriors and only five of them.

"There's too many!" Kai shouted, swinging his metal sword again.

"Let me handle it!" Jay commanded, knocking a few skeletons away. Quickly, he began to go through the same moves he had learned. "Hey! It's just like the training course!"

Kara could feel energy building up in her arms. Something big was about to happen. Jay went through the motions and sparked up electricity. It danced around him like a tornado. The blue ninja pulled spinjitzu, knocking out too many dead to count. Soon, after revealing the key to the rest of them, they all had learned spinjitzu. Samukai called for a retreat and they were gone faster than they had come.

Kara looked at them fight with a longing feeling. Spinjitzu was far away from her grasp. She turned around to face them, only seeing something much worse. "I don't think you'll be able to spin your way out of this one."

"Didn't Sensei say there was a guardian protecting the weapons?" Zane asked, unaware of what his three brothers had already discovered.

"Is that what I think is?" Cole asked.

"A dragon?" Jay squeaked.

"It sure looks like a dragon." Kai quivered.

The large creature stood ten feet above them, its scaly skin brown and its face orange. Its wings had holes in them, but that didn't affect its scariness. The ninja were backed into a corner by the dragon, so Kara acted. She put her hands together and focused. She felt water form between her fingers and combine into a small sphere. Slowly, it became bigger, but Kara lost control. The water exploded like a firecracker, sending them all into the wall.

Kai uncovered the weapon, but Jay stopped him before it was put to use. "No Kai. Bad idea. Sensei told us not to."

"Would you just give me that!" Kara snapped.

She flipped over the ninja, grabbed the scythe midair. As she landed, the point of the weapon sunk into the ground. The earth shook with madness and a huge crack opened up in the ceiling. She hit the wall with the weapon, causing part of the cave roof to collapse onto the guardian dragon. It was stunned long enough for all five of them to spinjitzu out of there. Kai took back the weapon, a little angry that he didn't get to use it.

Sensei was waiting for them at the top, angry that the weapon was used. Cole, Kai, Zane, and Jay were too busy congratulating each other on how good of a job they did to care. However, they shut their mouths when Wu told shouted at them for using the weapon. He was looking at Kai, who was holding the scythe, but not at Kara, who actually used it.

"I used it." Kara stated. "I took the scythe and used it."

Wu looked at Kara and sighed. "Just because you cannot control your powers doesn't mean you have the right to use the weapon. Maybe next time, you will do it right."

The female ninja ran ahead of them and kept going. Only, this time, she wasn't going with them.

Over the next few days, Kara followed the four ninja without them knowing she was there. She helped in any way she could so that they wouldn't kill themselves, but always kept their distance. Sensei was right. If Kara wasn't able to control her powers, she was a danger to everyone around her. After they retrieved the weapons would she come back, but not a moment sooner.

The girl stayed in the trees overhead as the five of them celebrated by the fire down on the ground. She knew that she had no right to use the weapon. Kara shouldn't have listened to Sensei and tried something else. But she couldn't control her powers! She was trapped inside a shrinking space as the energy kept building up. She wanted badly to use it, but it was impossible. Maybe that was why she used the weapon. The four ninja had their own elemental powers inside of them and could only release it by using the Golden Weapons, but it didn't build up on the inside so there was no need. Kara, however, was able to manipulate her powers by hand, but she didn't know how. It's like she was meant to, but wasn't able to.

Kara saw a shadow move. It was only a small movement, but she knew it wasn't her imagination. Something moved again. Kara jumped down from the branch, not catching the attention of the celebrating ninja, and followed the moving shadow. It stayed about ten feet away from the brightness of the fire, but circled around the small clearing.

Garmadon laughed. "Everything is going according to plan."

"Garmadon?" Kara asked, seeing the head of the shadow on a tree look at her. She smiled. "I thought I felt evil nearby."

"Kara." Garmadon recognized. "I thought Wu quit on a pathetic waste of time."

Kara furrowed her brows in disappointment. "I miss the old Garmadon."

The shadow hit Kara, smacking her into a tree. When she hit the ground, it stepped on her stomach to hold her down. She tried to grab the foot on her chest, but the dark magic Garmadon was using wouldn't let her touch it.

"You mean the one who didn't realize how tainted the world was?" He asked, the red eyes of the shadow glowing. He pressed down harder, and even though it was just a shadow, Kara felt immense pain. "That Garmadon sickens me!"

"No. I miss the Garmadon who cared about everyone." Kara gasped for breath, her eyes pleading to the shadow to step off. "I miss the Garmadon who showed mercy, and _loved _being himself."

Garmadon pressed harder on her ribcage, causing the girl to whale quietly in pain. Something lurched inside his heart: a hint of compassion. He pulled his foot back, looking at Kara and expecting her to get up. Instead, she propped herself on her elbows and smiled.

"I know you're still in there." Kara whispered. "I know you still care about your brother and Lloyd. They want you to come back."

"They don't care about me anymore. They only want to destroy me."

"No, that's not true. Wu loves you, you're his _brother_. He doesn't want to hurt you, but he has to keep you from hurting others. And you should see Lloyd. He's miserable without his father there. He wants to be just like you just so you can spend time with him."

Garmadon's time of compassion was up. "I'm stuck in the Underworld! I can only be free if I have the weapons!"

Garmadon whistled and disappeared into the shadows. Several quiet barks sounded around the trees. Kara could see creatures gathering around the area. The ninja and Wu had already fallen asleep and put the fire out, so they didn't notice. The girl listened carefully, knowing that the wolves were planning to kill the ones who had trespassed in their territory. They did that all the time, but when Kara was nine she was able to stop them. Maybe if their leader was there…

She heard it: the ghostly howl emitted by the alpha female of the pack. She looked around, seeing a pale creature leading two more wolves toward. The ghost wolf growled fiercely at Kara, and the two black ones stayed back a few feet. She approached the female ninja with caution, her teeth bared and ready to attack.

Kara knelt down, pulling her black mask back. "Riley, it's me. It's Kara."

The ghost wolf approached the girl's held out hand, sniffing it. Suddenly, her ears went down and she barked in happiness. It was her human friend! Kara smiled and went to pet the wolf, but her hand slipped right through it. She wasn't surprised that petting Riley was impossible. That ghost wolf happened to be the spirit of the forest. A few years ago, the wolf had started to become less and less solid. She turned into the ghost so that she could live forever and protect the animals of her forest. It was before Kara had inhaled Tomorrow's tea and became older, so Riley still thought her friend was small, but she recognized her scent.

"Please don't hurt them." Kara pleaded. "They're my friends, and they're just trying to protect their people as you protect you pack."

Riley looked around the girl and barked, calling all the wolves to go back. Even the two behind her were sent home. Then, the wolf looked at Kara and barked a few words. The human couldn't understand, but she knew somehow that Riley was making a deal with her. In exchange for their passing, the wolf wanted something.

"I can't understand you, Riley." Kara stated, sitting down. "Is there some way we can talk to each other?"

The ghost wolf tilted her head to the sky and howled. The howl was high pitched and called the wind. It swirled slowly around Kara and became faster and faster, completely covering the ninja. Riley smiled as a grey wolf-dog appeared before her. There, now they would be able to talk freely without any confusion. But that wasn't the only reason she had made Kara become an animal.

"How did you do that?" Kara asked, only hearing a bark in her ears.

"I have the power of nature at my paws." Riley responded. Her voice was sweet and gentle compared to a human's. "I need you to do something for my pack."

"I've never actually heard you talk before." Kara laughed, again only hearing barks. "But what do you need me to do."

"Just northeast of here, there' a wolf passing on our territory and trying to claim part of it. I need you to go and get him out."

"Sure, but is there any reason why you can't."

"There's something in the forest and I want to make sure it doesn't hurt any others."

The grey wolf-dog trotted off further into the forest, passing by Sensei Wu and the four others. It took a couple hours to get there, but Kara was able to negotiate with the other wolf and send him to live with the ones in another part of Ninjago. It was a fairly easy job and Kara found herself starting back to where Riley's pack was.

As she was walking, in the Underworld, Garmadon had just opened a portal that set him free. Wu, trying to convince his brother to come back, said that their father wouldn't want him to do this. However, their father was no longer here, and Garmadon went through the portal. Something changed within time and space, and Kara felt that on the surface. A pulse of energy was sent through the atmosphere.

Kara knew something was wrong. Her paws moved faster on the ground, and she desperately dodged trees and bushes in her rush. Something seriously didn't feel right. The female knew something was wrong. She quickly picked up on Riley's scent and followed it for two miles.

She finally found her wolf friend who smiled in greeting, but Kara paid no attention. "Riley, I did what you asked. Can you please change me back?"

"What's with the rush?" Riley laughed, lying on the ground. "Why don't you hang out for a while?"

"I think something's wrong with my friends, and-and I need to go help them."

Riley laughed. "Okay, I understand."

Riley stood up and stretched her limbs. Kara tapped her paw anxiously on the ground, knowing that her friend was doing this on purpose. The ghost wolf snickered and howled into the rising sun. Only, this time, the wind made no movement. She howled again, but nothing happened.

Kara grew very worried. Why wasn't anything happening? Something had to have happened. It couldn't have been with Riley, but more like something in space. That huge wave of energy Kara felt must've done something. Her stomach twisted and turned.

"What's wrong?" Kara asked worriedly. Riley didn't want to tell Kara. Something was wrong with the way space was working. The wolf-dog wouldn't be able to change back into a human. Kara was stuck. "Something happened, didn't it?"


	2. Chapter 2

**The second chapter is here! As you probably figured out, this version is based on the episodes but it will have a lot of differences. Or, maybe not a lot of differences.**

**Thanks to all of you readers, reviewers, followers, favoriters, all of you! This story would be nothing without you guys so thank you all! A selected one- Guest-who has commented on the last chapter, a sincere thanks! My goal is to reach at least one hundred reviews!**

**So…remember to review!**

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**Chapter 2**

**A Look of Blue**

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_A little girl walked through the forest, not really knowing where she was going. It's not like anyone else cared, though, except for a pure white wolf. It followed the nine year old, making sure all the other wolves of its pack stay away from her friend. In fact, all the animals of the forest obeyed the white wolf. It was in charge and stronger than all of them, including the bears._

_"__Thanks for keeping me safe Riley." Kara thanked, letting her hand pet the alpha while they walked. "Where do you think the apple tree is?"_

_Riley barked and ran ahead, forcing Kara to follow her. The brown eyed girl smiled as she ran. However, with only seconds of running she became tired and collapsed to the ground. The white wolf came back and whined, pawing at the girl's back. Kara lifted her head and smiled, stating that she was okay. The truth, though, was that she was starving. She hadn't eaten anything in days because no one came into the forest with food, and she never left the forest out of fear for something._

_Kara's parents and sister were killed a year ago by someone. The police said that it was just a drunk driver who rammed into them and drove away. Kara never found out who it was, but after a while she kind of stopped caring. The girl never went to any cities or villages out of fear for people. She made friends with the queen of the forest and usually found her own food._

_Kara stood up and dusted off her pants. "Thanks for worrying Riley. I think you should get back to your pack. I'll find the tree on my own."_

_The brown haired girl could see the apple tree just a few feet away. She climbed up the trunk, getting comfortable, and carefully picked a red fruit. The first bite was delicious, and the second was even juicier. Kara longed to eat like she did when her parents were still alive. Usually she had to make something for herself, but the girl never expected she would have to forage for her food. Kara sighed as she finished her apple. She almost grabbed another one, but knew it was probably her only source of food for months, so she would have to eat the fruit sparingly. Just in case she wouldn't be able to get back to the tree, she grabbed several apples and put them in her brown messenger bag_

_She heard a splash not too far away. Kara knew that the river was nearby, so she might be able to get a drink of water. However, the splash sounded like someone else was there and dropped something in. What if someone had figured out she was here? She didn't want to go, but if someone got hurt it would be on her because she didn't try to stop Riley's pack from attacking._

_Kara stayed in the thicket of trees right beside the river. She peered around the trunk, seeing a man standing right beside the riverbed. His white kimono was soaked as if he had gone swimming. However, he wore a straw hat and held what looked like a sword holder, which weren't at all wet._

_The old man looked into the water and sighed. He watched as the katana sank deeper into the river and hit the rocks at the bottom. He wasn't going to get it back anytime soon unless he swam down there himself. But, if he did, the noise might attract the wolves. The wolves in this area were pretty dangerous and no one would be responsible if something happened to the old man._

_"__Are you okay?" Kara asked from the shadows. Immediately, the girl's hands had flown to her mouth. Why in the world did she just reveal her position! The words came out on instinct. Why? "Shoot!" she whispered to herself._

_"__Who is there?" The man asked in the direction he had heard the voice. It had come from the other side of the river. "Come out where I can see you."_

_Seeing no way she could possibly hide now, Kara stepped out. The first thing the old man saw was her brilliantly blue eyes. Her hair was covered by a navy blue hoodie, which made the blueness of her eyes stand out even more. She seemed to be trying to hide herself from him. Kara now noticed his long, white beard._

_Kara realized her question wasn't answered, and right now she felt like she cared about someone else. "I asked if you were okay."_

_"__Oh," the man sighed, glancing at the katana in the river. "I'm fine. Thank you."_

_Kara was surprised at the answer. Thank you? No one had ever thanked her before no matter what she did. And she just got thanked for asking a question? How did that work?_

_The girl shook her head. "Are you sure? I assumed you fell in the water since your soaking wet."_

_The man chuckled. "Yes, well, I just dropped something in the water."_

_"__I hope it wasn't too important." Kara said insensitively. She had kind of forgotten that others had feelings. "The river is like nine feet deep."_

_The old man sighed again, looking into the river. Kara, seeing that he was on the other side of the river and couldn't attack her, stepped forward. She glanced into the water, seeing a bright light shining off of something metal. Taking a step back, it was revealed to be a sword._

_"__I'll have to come back tomorrow and get it." The man stated._

_"__Won't it be rusted?" Kara questioned, seeing him nod. "And there's no guarantee that it will be here by then. This river carries things all the way to the ocean."_

_"__There's nothing I can do about it right now."_

_He started to walk away. Kara felt an itching feeling in her stomach. For some reason, she wanted to dive in and get it for the old man. Not because he was old and couldn't retrieve it himself, but because she wanted to help him. Why? The girl placed her bag on the ground, pulled off her jacket, and took off her worn tennis shoes. She couldn't believe what she was about to do._

_Wu felt water hit the back of his kimono. When he turned around, he saw the girl underwater and swimming deeper. He smiled to himself. Wu had never met or known that this girl was here, but she helped him nonetheless. Only a true person would do that. He had doubt that she wouldn't when he started leaving, yet she did._

_Kara dove into the water, feeling a cold shock on her body. The water was freezing! She wanted right now to give up, but the katana seemed so close. So, she kept going. The girl saw it perfectly as she always did. Usually anyone without goggles has blurry vision underwater, but Kara wasn't just anyone. _

_She kicked her legs, getting closer and closer to the bottom. Her ears started to ache from all the pressure on her head, but when she swallowed some of it was released. Kara kept diving, her lungs starting to feel a little exhausted. She was slowly running out of fresh air and she wasn't even at the bottom yet._

_Her fingers sealed around the metal handle, and she started swimming up, only to be pulled down by her own arm. The tip of the sword was lodged under a stone. Getting it out would waste time that she needed to swim back up, yet Kara went back down. She lifted the rock, freeing the katana, and started heading back up. Something else kept her this time. The girl looked down to find that her shirt was stuck._

_Her eyes blackened at the edges, her lungs completely out of oxygen. She let go of the katana in panic, trying desperately to free herself. Her mind wouldn't let her eyes focus, and her lungs burned. Kara had to open her mouth in desperation to breathe, letting out the last of the oxygen in her lungs._

_Wu was still waiting at the surface after two minutes. Either this girl had drowned, or she could hold her breath for a long time. He worried for the girl, hoping that nothing had happened to her. However, he was quickly relieved as a shadow came closer to the top. The girl broke the water's peaceful surface._

_"__Here," she gasped, holding out the wet sword. "I found it."_

_"__You can hold your breath for a long time."_

_"__I guess."_

_"__Thank you very much." Wu responded. He put the katana in its holder and grabbed a small package out of his bag. "Here, for retrieving my katana."_

_Kara shook her head. "No I can't accept this. I just wanted to help out."_

_"__Please. I insist you take it."_

_Before Kara could reject, the old man had placed the brown package on the grass and left. She sighed, taking the gift and swimming to the other side of the river. How did she hold her breath for that long? Just as she opened her mouth to breathe water, air filled her exhausted lungs. She couldn't breathe underwater, could she?_

_Kara hauled herself onto the shore, lying down and letting the sun touch her skin in hopes it would dry her clothes. Of course it would take a couple of hours to completely dry off, so Kara opened the brown package. Under the brown, paper material was a black piece of clothing. The girl took it out, seeing a pair of tight, breathable pants along with a long sleeved shirt made with the same material. It would cover her feet, hands, and most of her face._

_"__Why did he give me this?" Kara asked herself._

_Also in the package was a small paper. Written on it was "Mountains of Impossible Height" which the girl found weird. Of course she knew where it was from her basic geography class in school, but why would it be in here? Kara didn't think much of it, so she put everything back in the box. Of course she was keeping it, so she placed it inside her bag and began to put her things on._

_The hoodie slid over her head, but she had to untie the tennis shoes before they would slip on her feet. They were really tight since she had gotten them when she was eight, but she couldn't get new ones. Kara had no money and didn't dare go into town. The girl went to the water's edge to wash her face, but noticed the sparkling blue eyes. Quickly, she splashed water in her face and rubbed her eyes. When her eyelids opened to let her see, Kara found her brown eyes still there and sighed in relief._

_For a second, she thought that maybe her eyes were truly blue._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three is here! Some of you guys might have been a bit confused on that last chapter, so I'm going to clear something up: Every time a chapter is italics for the entire thing, it's about Kara's past. I used to have a story called ****_Secret of Water's Past _****but I deleted it.**

**Now, though, I have a lot more free time on my plate with finishing school and all. I plan to put in a few 'past' chapters in this new version of my story to fill in some blanks.**

**Remember to review!**

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**Chapter 3**

**Just a Little Closer to Home**

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The ninja had their hands busy with Lloyd, the son of Lord Garmadon. The little boy was almost twelve but still eleven. He wanted nothing more than to be like his father, so he unlocked a tribe of snakes known as the Hypnobrai. He used them to attack Jamanakai village, but was stopped by the ninja. However, Cole was hypnotized by a snake known as Skales, but both he and his brothers are unaware that he is.

The ninja also learned about something very important. The legend of the Green ninja. The Green Ninja would rise above the others and defeat the dark lord. They had an entire tournament to decide who it was, but Wu declared that they weren't near the level of what it takes to be the Green ninja.

The female ninja was far from home. Kara laid on her grey paws in despair. She was lost, and to the ninja and Sensei Wu, she had just left and would never come back. The female spent the first two days of the curse worrying about it and trying to find a way back. She kept asking Riley to change her back, but she only got the same response: space was messed up.

Kara asked Riley how long she was stuck as a dog, and the ghost wolf said that it could last indefinitely. Kara could be stuck as an animal forever, and Sensei Wu would think she was gone. He would think that because she couldn't control her powers, that she left. But she was here! She was so close, but too far for anyone to reach.

Actually, the girl was much farther than she thought. And, with every passing day, the gap grew bigger and bigger. But, Kara refused to look at it that way. On the third day of her curse, she left the forest and traveled to the base of the Mountains of Impossible Heights, where on the top sat her home. She had so many memories up on her home.

The wolf-dog heard something behind her and turned her head. The mail man had just arrived at the mountain's base. He would need to climb it in order to deliver the mail, but right now he was so tired he didn't even feel like trying. He noticed the animal starting to go up the steps, and ran to catch up with it.

The dog stopped after seeing the man. "Hey little guy." The delivery man held out three letters and a small package to the dog jokingly. "Do you wanna take these up there for me?"

The man saw this as a joke, and so did Kara. It made her angry, but he was very tired and it was a long climb up. So, she gripped the four items between the two sets of teeth and trotted up the steps. The mail man stood in surprise, thinking that the dog was just going to tilt its head at him. But, instead, it took the mail! Were pigs going to fly today too?

Once at the door to the monastery, Kara scratched the door with her paw. The only thing she heard back was the sound of training. It was like music to her ears. The training course was an important part in her life and she already missed the annoying sounds it made. Once everything was quiet, except for Sensei Wu's voice, Kara stood on her back legs and pushed the doorbell.

"Mail!"

The door opened, and three ninja were very surprised to see a dog standing outside with the packages in its mouth. The furry grey animal stepped inside proudly and put down the mail. First, it picked up a letter for Jay and approached him. As Cole tried to take it, the creature growled, but Jay took it without a problem. Next were Kai, and then Cole.

"Is this some kind of new delivery service?" Kai asked. "Because I don't think an untrained dog would just walk up here to give us out mail."

"I'll go call the post office and ask." Jay stated, going inside for a couple minutes. After a few questions and a couple of okays, he came back out. "They just said that there's no dog delivery."

"Well maybe he…" Cole was stopped in the middle of his sentence by a growled from the dog. "Maybe she just wanted to help someone out. We should keep her."

"Are you kidding?" Jay asked. "There's barely enough room for the four of us, let alone a dog!"

"I think we should keep her." Zane said, petting the dog. "I was never allowed to have any pets at the orphanage."

"Zane, what happened to your parents?" Kai questioned.

"I don't remember my parents." Zane stated. "I've been an orphan all my life."

"Wait, so you've never had a home?"

Zane shook his head. Wu, however, tried to cheer him up. "The monastery is your home now."

Jay attempted to change the subject. "I'm gonna call her Joanna."

Zane shook his head again, going to his room to be sad by himself. The dog huffed, catching everyone's attention. She looked at Sensei and folded her ears back, huffing again. _That was the wrong thing to say_, Kara thought to herself. She followed the master of ice into the monastery. One the way in, she saw the staff belonging to the Hypnobrai, a serpentine tribe that was long buried underground. A shudder went up her spine.

A few hours later, everyone gather into the dining room for some dinner. Luckily, it was Zane's night to cook, which everyone loved. Kara wasn't eating out of a dog bowl that was for sure. She would probably just sneak into the kitchen at night and find something like a fruit or whatever. Or while one of the ninja was cooking she would wait for them to give her a piece by hand. Kara admitted to herself that she wanted to see how much food a dog could get by begging.

"I love it when it's Zane's night to cook!" Jay squealed, happy that he was about to eat.

"Hey," Cole interrupted. "I didn't hear any complaints about my duck chowder last night."

"That's because it glued our mouths shut!" Kai stated. "You really thought Jay was speechless through the entire dinner."

"Yeah, please don't make that again" Jay pleaded, crossing his arms.

"Dinner is served!" Zane placed a huge plate of turkey on the table along with other side dishes. However, after seeing the pink apron he was wearing, everyone burst out laughing. "What's so funny?"

"Zane, you're wearing a…" Nya struggled to find the right word. "Even I wouldn't wear that!"

The white ninja was confused. "You laugh because I take steps to ensure that I am clean after cooking?"

"No!" Kai laughed between breaths. "We laugh because you came out wearing that ridiculous outfit!"

"I guess we don't share the same sense of humor."

"Well, how 'bout this!" Cole grabbed a plate of salad and slammed it into Kai's face. His angry face caused another round of laughter, but Zane did nothing. "How could you not find that funny…agh!"

Sensei Wu dumped a bowl of pudding on Cole's head, completely changing his mood. "Now you are brothers!"

Instead of eating, everyone spent dinner time chucking hunks of food at each other and laughing. However, Zane only took the garbage out, throwing his apron away with it. He hated how different he felt around them. Joanna came outside to try and help Zane, but he didn't even notice her until she barked. The ninja took one look at the dog, laughing a little. On her head was a tomato, which Zane threw away after getting it off.

A sharp chirp interrupted them, causing Zane to look up at the sky. A falcon landed on a nearby tree, copying what Zane did. When the ninja did a little dance, the bird copied, but then started to fly away. The ninja followed, telling Joanna to stay and wait for him to come back.

Kara smiled on the inside. She hated when others were sad or in need. She always felt the need to help, even if that person in need was a complete stranger.

…

"Again tell us how you stumbled upon Lloyd's secret hideout." Kai stated as they took a break.

"I followed a bird." Zane responded as he looked around for the right way.

"Why?" Jay asked.

Zane began leading them in a different direction. "Because it danced."

"Oh okay. Was it a kookoo bird?"

Zane's only response was exactly the way he would've responded: with a smart, serious comment to that sarcastic statement. They all stopped, finding a huge tree house supported by four large trees. They could hear Lloyd's voice commanding some serpentine on what to do.

Joanna barked at Zane, pointing her snout to the tallest tree there. A rope was tied around it to keep the tree house from falling. The four hadn't even realized that the dog was fallowing them. Zane thanked the animal for helping and explained to his brothers what they would do. Kai, Jay, and Zane would cut three of the ropes and Cole would be in charge of cutting the last one so that the tree house would collapse on itself.

"Travel in shadows boys!" Cole said, rushing off.

Kai cut a rope with his sword, riding it up to a platform. Cole hid under that elevator which took him to the top. Zane and Jay flipped from tree branches to get to the destination. Kara stay behind, knowing that a dog would surely catch unwanted attention. She wouldn't be able to sneak around as an animal, so she would watch for anything.

The four ninja met at the top, each taking their place at their assigned tree. Jay and Zane pulled spinjitzu, cutting the rope. The tree house tilted, throwing off dozens of Hypnobrai. Lloyd almost fell off, but was luckily stopped by the rail. He looked up, seeing Kai still standing on the top.

"I said no ninja!" Lloyd shouted. "Attack!"

"Everyone! Retreat!" A snake shouted.

"Cole! Wait till we're off the tree house, and then cut the line."

Kara barked loudly as Cole stopped working with his brothers. The entire fortress was about to crumble, but the master of earth started attacking the rest of the guys. Two serpentine retreated and started running north. The wolf-dog followed them for a long time, barking to catch any attention.

She saw a red dragon flying overhead and barked as loud as she could. But the sound of a flute drowned out her voice. Nya and Wu passed over Kara without even knowing. However, she kept following the two serpentine all the way to the monastery, knowing that they had something planned. When they entered, they locked the door so she couldn't interfere.

A small fire started, building until the entire monastery was on fire. The two snakes left, taking a staff filled with anti-venom in it. Kara knew that she should get the staff back, but she also knew that something very important was left inside the building. They left the door open, so the dog ran in, desperately searching for something.

A wooden beam fell on her, singing the fur on her back. She yelped and clawed at the ground to escape it. Smoke started to fill her lungs, but she only went in deeper. The door to Wu's room had burnt down, and she charged in, finding the katana. A roar emitted through the air. The dragons were trapped inside as well. Kara ran straight out of the burning monastery, stopping to grab the brown messenger bag out of her room, and rushed to free the dragons.

However, they were already free and flying through the air. Kara barked gleefully as a red dragon landing amongst the remains of her home. Zane's dragon, Shard, put the last of the fire out. Nya, the ninja, and Wu all stood in disbelief at the mess of their home. Kara whined softly, and held out the katana that belonged to Sensei and the bag. He looked at her, noticing the eyes a perfect shade of blue. Were they always that color?

"They stole their staff back." Wu stated.

"What are we gonna do now?" Cole asked as his dragon rubbed up against him.

Kai picked up a piece of wood and crushed it in his hand, approaching Zane. "If you hadn't have followed that stupid bird none of this would've happened."

Kara growled as if standing up for Zane.

"Kai," Wu said.

"No Sensei, he's right!" Jay agreed with Kai. He pointed an accusing finger at Zane. "Because of you my high score has been deleted!"

"This is a teaching moment, we must learn from it." Zane said.

"A teaching moment?" Cole grew angry. "What's wrong with you? Don't you get it? Everything is GONE!"

"Enough, we are all at fault." Sensei Wu got their attention. "Zane is your brother, apologize at once."

The three turned around to apologize to Zane, but only saw the heaps of burnt wood. Joanna was barking at the sky, causing everyone to look at the light blue dragon flying away and carrying Zane with it. The dog stopped barking and sat down next to everyone. Kai went to pet her, but she quickly got up and moved, huffing.

…

Everyone sat next to a small fire, eating this weird thing. It was called mud newt, something that lived underground. They were all sad that Zane had left. First it was the ninja of water, and then the master of ice. Kai, Jay, and Cole took turns explaining what they missed. They all said the same thing: Zane.

Kara caught a whiff of something familiar. It smelt like apple pie, but where was it coming from? Being a dog let her smell things from really far away. She looked at the sky, seeing a white dragon flying down. After it landed, Zane soon appeared walking up the steps.

"Zane!" they all shouted.

Joanna trotted up to him and barked. Everyone immediately apologized for everything they said. Zane stated that he followed the falcon from before and led them down the Mountains of Impossible Heights, and through a vast desert, where a ship sat. Kara recognized the symbols on the side. They read _"Destiny's Bounty"_.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm back yet again! I'm enjoying typing this story the way I originally wanted it. Again, I apologize if you do not like this version better.**

**A quick comment: Jay calls the dog version of Kara Joanna. So if I ever mention the name Joanna it will mean Kara. I just use it for the dog version of her.**

**Thanks to all you followers, readers, and favoriters. I would be nothing without any of you! And to answer your question, Guest, Kara turned into a dog in the first chapter near the end.**

**Remember to review for a shout out!**

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**Chapter 4 **

**Just Help**

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_Kara tried on the clothes that the old man had given her. They fit perfectly? He didn't know her; he hadn't even planned to give her the clothes, so how did he know what size she was? Kara didn't even know what size she was! How could a complete stranger know that? How did he even know that? The funny thing was is that she never even got his name, nor did he get hers._

_When Kara looked into the water to see how it looked on her, she was astonished. She looked like a ninja! It had the real hood and everything! The girl was impressed, and almost considered keeping it on. But she knew that it wasn't her. There was no way that Kara could ever be a ninja. Ninja help others instinctively, but she never wanted to help anyone. So, she took it off and put her real clothes back on._

_The Mountain of Impossible Heights was north of where Kara stood, and like the name suggested, it was impossibly high. In order to get there, she would have to pass through Jamanakai village, which was probably filled with people. The girl didn't want to go through, because she knew a lot of crime happed in places like that. Homes are robbed and people are killed. She didn't think it was very friendly at all._

_But, Kara had this feeling nagging at her stomach. She felt like she needed to go there. Sometimes, she got this feeling about something, like two days ago when she helped out that old man. Something was just tugging at her heart and she had to do what she could to help. Kara thought that maybe she was sick, but there was no way she was going to a doctor that might not even help her._

_"__Just go through." Kara whispered to herself. "You're worrying for nothing. Nothing's gonna happen."_

_Kara buried her apple core in the ground, in hopes that in an apple tree would grow in a few years. In the dirt, she drew a heart around the place where the seeds were planted, so she would remember. The girl pulled her dark blue hoodie over her head and stuck both hands in her pocket. She didn't want to attract any attention when she went through the village._

_A whimper sounded in her ears, and Kara turned around. A pure white wolf stood behind her, her head tilted in confusion. The girl smiled and pet Riley's head, saying that she was going into town to look for something. The wolf wondered why her human friend was leaving the forest. She never left, not even when there was a fire and a bunch of people came in. Kara hid from them instead of leaving. Riley thought that the girl was afraid of people, so why was she going through a place with a bunch of them?_

_"__I'll be back by night." Kara whispered, walking off._

_Riley looked at the sky and felt the wind brush her fur. The sun had just risen, so it was probably seven a.m. Night was still thirteen hours away. A lot could happen in thirteen hours._

_…_

_Kara arrived at the village around eight a.m. Instantly, she knew that she didn't belong with anyone else. She kept her head down and walked faster than everyone. Her clothes were rather dark compared to everyone else, who wore bright pink or cheetah print. While she had worn out tennis shoes, others wore brand new heels, flip flops, or running shoes. Kara stood out too much, especially since she was trying not to stand out._

_"__Mommy, what's wrong with that girl?"_

_"__She's probably homeless. Don't stare at her."_

_The brown haired girl started running, turning behind a building so that no one would look at her cry. She already hated being around other people who were judging her based on her looks. Why was she even here? Nothing was going to be at the mountain and she would've just wasted a day going there. She should just go back to the forest._

_But the feeling was nagging at her heart. It started getting to the point where it hurt. Kara kept walking and tried to ignore everyone, but she couldn't help notice that a piece of green paper fell out of a boy's pocket. The girl huffed, ignoring it. It was his fault if he lost his money, not hers. She wasn't about to help that person. What did he do for her?_

_An itching feeling scratched her stomach. That boy probably needed the money for something. His mom might get mad at him for losing it. Kara knew she hated when her mom was mad at her. Just help, she told herself. So, she ran over and snatched the money up. She quickly caught sight of the boy and caught up with him._

_"__Excuse me," Kara interrupted._

_The mom, after just one look at her, pulled her son behind her. "Yes." she answered for him._

_Kara tried not to roll her eyes and held out the green paper. "Your son dropped this."_

_"__Oh," the mom replied, taking it. The little girl's eyes were so… blue. They were actually very pretty. "Thank you."_

_As soon as the money left her hand, Kara turned around and walked away. She didn't want to drag any attention to herself, but had brought a lot of it. That mom was bound to tell her friends about what Kara had done, even though Kara was a stranger to the lady._

_Why did she keep doing that! Kara was helping complete strangers. First, the old man, and now the little boy. She didn't know them, but did a favor for them. Anyone she helped wasn't going to do the same for her, except for that old man. But that was different. Kara thought something weird was going on with him._

_"__Dad can I go to the library?"_

_Kara's mind snapped to attention when she heard "library". She remembered going there every day to read books. Sometimes she would find scrolls about legends of Ninjago. Reading them always brought thoughts to her mind. Most of the time she never knew what they were talking about, but the idea of it never left her mind._

_So, Kara walked into the library. It was huge! Thousands of books probably sat on the shelves of each bookcase. Immediately, the girl went to the back section, hoping that the scrolls were still there from when she was little. She was happy to see that the small book shelf of scrolls still sat where she had always remembered. Kara only saw two other people in the library: An old lady with grey hair that was put into a braid, and another man who wore a black, ski hat. All of his other cloths were black like the ninja suit Kara had received._

_Kara picked up a scroll and sat down at the table closest to her. The old lady looked up and said hello to the little girl. The brown haired girl was polite and said hello back, noticing that the lady was also reading one of the scrolls. Kara focused on her own scroll, finding it rather boring. It was the story of creation, which she had read when she was little._

_"__Would you like this one?" the lady asked._

_Kara looked up, seeing the woman holding out the scroll she was reading. Kara noticed that she had a holder that had its own scroll in it. "Sure, thank you." _

_The scroll depicted a picture of five figures. The first was dressed in blue, the second in red, the third in black, and the fourth in white. The fifth one took up the entire middle section of the page and was wearing green. Kara read the scroll carefully, not really understanding. But this "Green Ninja" guy must be really important. He was destined to defeat the Dark lord, whoever that was._

_Kara looked up, seeing the lady already start to leave. Once she was out of the building, the girl noticed that the man in black started to follow, not even putting the book he was reading back. She saw a glint of shine come from his back pocket, and immediately recognize it. It glinted of light like the katana she retrieved from the river. Kara didn't trust the man; he was going to do something to that old lady._

_The itching feeling in her stomach made her follow the man. She knew that he had a knife in his back pocket, and was planning to do something to the old lady. This time, she didn't hesitate to help. Her own parents were killed and she didn't want someone else to suffer like her mother and father did._

_Misako noticed the man following her. She had seen him everywhere she went today: the grocery store and the library. In fact, a week ago she thought she saw him in the museum, where she worked. Misako came to a dead end, a result of her not paying attention to where she was going. She turned around, seeing the man in black holding a knife in his hand._

_"__Well, looks like it's my lucky day." He snickered. _

_Kara watched from around the corner. The lady had tried to fight back, but the man somehow got the knife against her throat, telling her to give him all her money. Just help her, Kara thought. If she ended up dead, she was blaming her kindness. The girl charged and slammed into the man, sending him flying. The knife slid along the ground._

_The man on the floor glanced at the knife, and then the girl. He pushed himself up and jumped for his knife. Kara lunged at the weapon as well, but her hand missed. Before she could react, the metal object sliced her cheek and went toward her neck. The girl quickly grabbed the man's arm just as the knife was against her throat. He pushed it closer, drawing a little blood._

_Pretend you're in water Kara, she thought to herself._

_Kara used her free arms to elbow the guy in the stomach and smack the knife out of his hand. Her movements were more fluid as if she was in water, but they felt so slow in her mind. While he was on his stomach, the girl grabbed his arm and pinned it behind him. She heard several shouts and saw two police men running toward her. Kara got up and back away, letting them take care of the guy._

_Misako approached the young girl. "Thank you so much."_

_"__No problem." Kara said, still wondering why she helped the stranger. "I just, like to help people who are in need."_

_The lady looked over Kara, seeing someone familiar. "I'm sorry, I have to go."_

_Kara watched as the lady walked away, completely unnoticed by the police. Something slipped out of the holder in her hand. The girl ran over and picked it up, calling for the woman. But, the older lady didn't seem to hear and walked off before getting her scroll back._

_A police man approached the little girl. "Thank you for your bravery. That guy is surely going to jail. But, uh, I don't see your parents little girl"_

_"__Oh, my parents, uh, died." Kara smiled, trying to shake off the feeling of the moment._

_"__Well where's your guardian?"_

_"__My guardian?"_

_"__Yeah, who's watching you?"_

_Kara shrugged. "I guess I watch myself."_

_"__Well, you're gonna have to come with me."_

_The officer grabbed Kara's arm, but the girl pulled away. "No! I'm fine by myself."_

_"__Young lady, I am required by law to make sure that you are being looked after by someone."_

_"__Too bad for the law because I'm not going with you."_

_"__You have no choice."_

_The officer grabbed her arm again, having to pull her toward his police car and force her in. He hated using force on children, but she wasn't listening to him which meant she wasn't listening to the law. Kara tried to open the door but it was on child lock. She smacked the window with her fist, trying to make it break. She punched again, accidentally cracking it. It didn't completely break, but a line stretched across the glass_

_Kara saw someone familiar outside, wearing a straw hat and holding a staff. She realized that it was the old man from before. The girl ducked, hiding her face with her hands. Okay I'll come, she thought to herself. But, the car door opened and the officer told her to get out. Kara, realizing she had no choice, stepped out, hoping that the crack in the window wouldn't be noticed._

_"__Your grandfather is here to pick you up." The officer said, getting into his car and starting it. "Next time think twice about lying to a police officer."_

_As the officer drove off, Wu started walking, gesturing for Kara to follow. The girl was dying to know how he knew the ninja suit would fit her. Still, they walked in silence until she was able to see a mountain._

_Kara stopped walking. "Um, thank you for, well, you know."_

_The old man laughed. "It was not a problem at all. But, I must ask: where are your parents?"_

_"__Oh," Kara sighed. She hadn't expected that question. "They…died a year ago…in a car accident."_

_"__My condolences. I'm surprised to see that you have no scars from the incident."_

_"__Oh, well I used to have them all over my faces but they rubbed off with a little water." Kara held out her right arm, pulling back the sleeve to reveal a sideways eight on her wrist. "This one never came off. But I think it means something."_

_"__Perhaps." Wu responded, not giving it much thought. He started walking again, having Kara follow him. He was going to the monastery way up on the Mountains of Impossible Heights. "My name it Wu, but you shall call me Sensei."_

_"__Isn't that what ninja call their…"_

_"__Yes." He interrupted._

_There was a long pause of silence. Kara didn't know why she was just agreeing with this man and following him. She already knew that Wu was going to train her to be a ninja, which she caught on from the whole 'Sensei' thing. Also, the ninja suit in her bag gave some of it away. Kara knew that she was capable of something great, maybe this was her start._

_"__I have one more question." Kara stated, smiling when Wu looked at her. "Can I call you Sensei Wu?"_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter five is now here. I'm working hard to make this story exactly how I want it. Please, if you notice any mistakes tell me because I would have to fix them. Of course I usually read over my work many times before posting, but I can still miss things.**

**A thank you for the readers, followers, and favoriters for supporting my story. A special thanks to Guest for reviewing.**

**Remember to review!**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Out in the Ocean**

* * *

After Zane had found the Destiny's Bounty, the ninja had moved in. Despite the fact that the Bounty had two sails shaped like they were meant to carry the ship in the air, it never left the sandy ground. Jay, however, was working on a special button that was supposed to make the ship fly.

Since Lloyd's tree house was destroyed, he was betrayed by the Hypnobrai's new leader, Skales. Soon, he unlocked a second tribe of snakes: the Fangpyre. Their venom could transform any machine, animal, or even human into a snake, which could be incredibly dangerous. The little boy first went to hit the ninja where he knew it would hurt. Jay's parents were bitten by a Fangpyre and almost turned into one of the deadly snakes. They were able to cure them, and Jay was able to make the bounty fly.

Kara tried the best she could, but as a dog she wasn't able to help much. Sometimes, she couldn't even help at all. It was lonely. Even her own Sensei didn't know it was her. She missed Sensei Wu. To Kara, Wu was like her uncle. Since her parents and sister died in the car accident, she hadn't really had any family beyond him.

The bounty had landed around the forest by the fire temple. Kara might be able to see her old friend. Maybe she would be able to change back. While the ninja were busy training, the dog jumped off the ship and landed on the ground with a thud. She wasn't as graceful as an animal. Kara ran through the forest, watching the familiar territory rush past her.

A tree covered with apples came into sight. The wolf-dog slowed down, seeing juicy, red fruit dangling from branches. She slowed down and jumped, sinking her teeth into the lowest apple. Kara sat down and enjoyed her meal, knowing that when she went back to the bounty a bowl of dog food would be waiting. She may be a dog now, but she wasn't eating dog food out of a dog bowl. That would be more humiliating than barking like a dog.

Kara buried the apple core and moved on. She passed by a river full of memories from when she was nine. She actually missed being a kid. Nothing in the world to worry about. Right now, she was worrying about ever getting home. Kara missed the days full of training, the scolding of Sensei Wu when she did something wrong; she even missed those four ninja that had somehow ended up in her life. She was too far from home.

Riley was doing her daily patrol of her territory borders, checking for any wolves that invaded her area. Usually, the ghost wolf was kind to all creatures, but she did have a pack to protect and feed. Riley trotted by the river, seeing a grey wolf dog looking at itself in the water. She barked gleefully at her friend, catching Kara's attention. Riley jumped over the nine foot wide river, landing gracefully on the other side.

"Riley!" Kara barked, bounding to the white wolf. "I need to ask you something."

Riley tossed her head. "What? No congratulations for jumping the river?"

"Congratulations." She said blandly. "Now please? Can you please…"

"Kara." Riley interrupted, walking away.

The wolf-dog caught up with her wolf friend. "I'm sorry, Riley. I just…miss my home. I miss my family."

"This is your home. We wolves are your family."

"Riley, you know I love you like a sister, and you know that I think of every wolf in this pack as my family. But, that's different. I'm a person, not a wolf. I belong with my own kind."

Riley was silent for a long time, but she smiled. "It's okay. I understand."

The Spirit of the Forest tilted her head to the sky, howling with perfect pitch. Kara shuffled in her spot, butterflies in her stomach. She might be going home. She might be able to see her family again. As the seconds ticked by, with not so much as a flicker from the wind, Kara's heart sank. She wasn't going home anytime soon.

Kara dropped to her stomach and cried. She had lost everything once and now twice. What did she leave? Why was this her fate? Why did it have to be her? Riley lay next to Kara, trying to comfort her best friend. She knew how hard life was for the girl, and she knew that it was her own fault that Kara was stuck like this.

"Kara, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have changed you into a wolf."

"I miss my home."

"Well, why did you leave?"

Kara thought about it for a moment. "I didn't want anyone to get hurt because I couldn't control my powers."

"What about that dark magic user?" Riley asked, knowing that it was a little off subject. "That shadow that was trying to kill you."

"What do you mean?"

"Why didn't you use your powers on him? Surely you wanted to stay alive."

Kara had to think for a moment. Why didn't she use her powers on Garmadon? She really wanted to hear the answer from herself as well. Garmadon did try to kill her. To him, she was a threat.

"Well," Kara chuckled, about to humor herself. So far, Riley's talking was keeping the wolf-dog from crying. "I don't know how to control my powers. But if I did, and even though Garmadon has an evil heart, deep inside, I know he's still in there. He cares about something. He showed me compassion by not killing me."

Riley was completely lost. She didn't really know who Garmadon was, but she assumed that he was the shadow. Still, even though Kara's reasoning sounded like she was just hoping, Riley didn't want to interrupt.

"I knew Garmadon when he was ten, before the evil venom tainted his blood. He was kind and caring. Sensei Wu looked up to him, but Garmadon started hating his brother as soon as the Devourer bit him. But he still cares about something. Instead of killing his family, he wants to turn them evil so that they can be together."

"Okay." Riley stretched and stood up. "I know what to do."

Kara stood up as well. "Wait, were you even…"

"Because I caused you all of this pain, I'm going to give you a power."

"A power? Like controlling my elemental powers?"

"No. One of my powers. You will be able to change from your wolf form into a bird. You will be able to fly anywhere you want."

Kara's eyes lit up with joy. "I could go to the ocean!"

Riley laughed at her friend's love for water. She howled into the sky, hearing Kara join her at a perfect pitch. This time, the wind blew around the wolf-dog at once, sending energy into her body. All at once, she changed from a four legged animal into a two legged animal with feathers. She became a tiny, black bird with a red belly and white stripe on her wings. Compared to the white wolf, she was really small.

Kara thanked Riley and jumped into the air, flapping her wings hard. The air started to support her tiny body, and she was soon sailing through the sky without flapping. It felt amazing to be in the air, but couldn't replace the feeling of home.

…

An hour away from shore, Kara saw nothing but water. It felt so nice to have the water right under her, but she wished there was a piece of wood or something to land on. Her wings were starting to hurt.

The bird folded her wings against her side, diving at a high speed through the water. As the liquid came closer, Kara unfolded her wings just a little more. She dove underwater and twisted up, catching a gust of wind just as she resurfaced. The air pushed against her wings, pulling her out of the water with ease. She flapped and angled herself so she could go higher.

Something came into view: a building. It was tall and grey, almost like a skyscraper in Ninjago City, but it was alone. Kara flew closer to it, able to see that something was swimming in the water right by it. Sunlight glinted off metal, showing that the creature was chained to that spot.

Kara came closer to the tower, seeing a window where she could land and rest. The creature sensed a bird. If it couldn't leave, than neither could the man in that building. A tentacle shot out of the water and smacked the bird. She was hit pretty hard on the wing, but flew quickly toward the building. Kara dove through the window, barely dodging another swing from the creature. She hit the floor of the room and hurt her right wing.

Something picked up the bird, pinning her wings to her side with its hands. "You poor thing." The old man placed her on a table and held out her injured wing. She tried to pull back. "You don't have to worry, I won't hurt you."

The old man had white hair and metal glasses. He wore a lab coat with the pockets full of pens and pencils. For some reason, Kara was reminded of Zane. On the man's lab coat, a name tag read: Dr. Julien. He took some bandages and tapped the scrape on her wing with it. Kara extended it and folded it repeatedly, finding that it hurt a little less.

"There, now you can fly again." Julien said, smiling. He placed her on the window's edge. "Go. Be free. The Leviathan won't bother you again."

Kara noticed a few papers on a desk, so instead of leaving, she flew over and examined them. They were blueprints for the skeleton army's vehicles and weapons. She moved them with her little bird feet, one by one, but stopped after coming to a darker sheet of paper. Kara managed to see what was on it, and it wasn't at all what she thought.

Julien sighed. "Those are the machines I've made for the Skulkin." The man looked at the ground. He seemed to be talking more to himself rather than the bird, which made more sense. Kara tweeted and he looked back at the bird. Its eyes were a perfect shade of blue. "My son probably thinks I'm a monster."

On that darker sheet of paper was a design for a robot. Kara instantly recognized it as Zane. Wasn't he an orphan? With a closer look at the paper, she saw that there was a memory switch. Maybe he accidentally turned it off.

Julien felt incredibly crazy and stupid for talking to a bird. It couldn't possible understand him, and even if it did why would it care? However, Kara's eyes showed that she was caring and intelligent. She knew that they were blue right now. Originally, they were brown but turned blue whenever she was helping someone. Kara always loved when they did that.

"You probably need to go home, little bird." Julien stated, bringing her back over to the window sill. "Somebody is probably missing you."

Kara wasn't sure about that. She missed Sensei Wu, but she doubt he missed her. She probably was a waste of time. The girl couldn't even control her powers nor do spinjitzu correctly. Yet all the others learned within weeks of starting their training.

Kara flapped her wings and flew into the air. The poor creature chained in the ocean looked at her fly away. It let her leave this time, knowing that it deserved its freedom. Only, Kara wasn't even close to freedom.


	6. Chapter 6

**Back yet again with another new chapter. As always, I must thank the followers, favoriters, readers, and reviewers for reviewing. I have a short authors comment today so…**

**Remember to review!**

**Chapter 6**

**Little Lloyd Garmadon**

Kara searched the sky for the bounty. After she left it in Riley's forest, it probably took off. She needed to find it before anyone noticed that 'Joanna' wasn't on the ship. She folded her wings, diving under the clouds. In the distance, she saw a small dot emitting smoke. Slowly, it lowered into the ocean and stopped moving. There was no way that was a regular airplane since they couldn't land in the ocean without sinking. The bird landed on the deck within minutes, hearing voices from inside. It tweeted just as the four ninja stepped on deck with Wu.

The dog perked its head up as the five came up. She stood up and circled around them, expecting to be seen. But the four ninja were busy talking about something and didn't notice at all.

"You had some dream." Kai stated. "What exactly _were_ you dreaming about?"

"The falcon." Zane answered.

"Whoa, Zane. Every time you see that bird something big happens." Jay commented. "First it led you to the secret tree house."

"And then it led you to the bounty." Cole added.

Sensei Wu caught his student's attention. "Alright, stretches. First, the swooping crane."

The ninja got into position, but quickly Zane informed his brothers about his dream. "This time, it showed me the Green ninja."

"The Green ninja!" The others shouted.

Wu quickly caught three of them in bad form and corrected them. However, instead of paying attention, they continued to talk about Zane's dream.

"You can't just drop a bomb like that!" Jay whispered, balancing on one leg. "Spill the beans."

"He was fighting Lord Garmadon." Zane stated.

"That's what the prophecy said." Kai started thinking back, trying to remember what the scroll said. "The Green ninja is destined to defeat the Dark Lord. Did you have a chance to see which one of us is him?"

"I could not tell which one of us he was."

"Now!" Wu shouted. "Pinching crab!"

Kara snickered at the four ninja. She heard their conversation about the Green ninja, and based upon their lack of power and foolishness, she knew none of them were going to be the Green ninja. Kara hoped that it would be her. After years of going to the library and reading scrolls, there was nothing about her. It always referred to the Green ninja, but never the Ninja of Water. A lot of them stated that the Green ninja had the power of the Golden Weapons. If Kara could learn to control her elemental powers, she might just be the one.

"Since you all appear to be lacking in focus, you can all share the punishment." Sensei Wu stated, getting a round of whining and blaming. "No free time and no video games. The rest of the day can be used for training, and tomorrow for that matter."

"Training?" Kai questioned. "For how long?"

"Until you can answer this question: what is the best way to defeat an enemy?"

The four gave useless answers, to which they were wrong. Kara, however, perked her ears up at hearing this question. She already knew the answer to that question but Kai, Cole, Zane, and Jay didn't. They had to train together until they found the answer, but first they planned to hear more about Zane's dream.

While the ninja were busy training, Lloyd was about to lead the Fangpyre into battle against the Hypnobrai. It was working, up until the two leaders recognized each other. They quickly became friends and turned against Lloyd. He ran away, already planning to open the next tomb.

Upon finding the Anacondrai tomb and opening it, Lloyd met a snake known as Pythor. They quickly formed an alliance and terrorized the people of Jamanakai village. But they sought bigger intentions and took over Darkley's School for Bad Boys, rigging every door and window with traps. The ninja weren't going to get in unless they smashed through the roof.

The ninja, happy to do something other than training, rushed to the school. They had more trouble than they thought it was worth, being caught by many of his traps. When they finally cornered Lloyd on the roof, the boy looked towards Pythor for help. However, the Anacondrai stole the map Lloyd had, which revealed the locations of the other serpentine tombs, and disappeared. With the snake gone, the bounty landed right by the roof of the school with ease.

"Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon!" Wu shouted. "You get over here right now!"

Jay rushed the kid and slung him over his shoulder. "I got him Sensei!"

"What should we do with him?" Cole asked. "Wash his mouth out with soap?"

"Ground him indefinitely?"

"Make him sit in the corner for a century?"

"I know exactly what we must do." Wu stated. Lloyd swallowed hard in response.

As night fell, Kara watched as Sensei Wu read Lloyd a book. At the end, the little boy felt a little guilty. "If my dad had read me that book when I was younger, I would've never opened the serpentine tombs. I'm sorry uncle."

"You do not have to be sorry." Wu responded. "I'm sure if your father was still here, that would be the first thing he'd read."

_The best way to defeat an enemy is to make them your friend, _Kara answered inside her head. _If only Garmadon was meant to be a father._

…

Over the next few days, Pythor managed to unlock the last two tribes of snakes: the Constrictai and Venomari. He attempted to unite them all in hopes to awaken the Great Devourer, but the ninja were able to stop them. Soon, Pythor and his second-in-command Skales, a Hypnobrai, were digging through the desert, trying to find the Lost City of Ouroborus, which succeeded.

As the bounty traveled through the air, the delivery man tried following them by pedaling on his bike which had been designed to fly. Joanna looked over the side and barked. The man said he had a package for Sensei Wu as he landed on the deck. He gave it to the dog, recognizing her from before, and took off. He still had a lot of packages to deliver and didn't want to waste time.

Kara trotted into the dining room, finding that Lloyd was explaining his plan to defeat serpentine. "First, I'll stomp on his tail! When he turns, a thunder clap to his ears. And then I'll disarm him."

"Too late!" Cole interrupted, having a little fun with Lloyd. "He already hypnotized you and you're under his control."

"Or put you in a squeeze." Zane added.

"Or spit on you with his hallucinatory venom." Kai used his hands to emphasize his point. "That is some pretty bad stuff."

"Ugh," Lloyd sighed.

Kara trotted to the end of the table with the package in her jaw. She gave it to Sensei Wu and sat down on the floor to see what it was.

"Uncle?" Lloyd asked. "What's the best way to defeat a serpentine when you don't know what kind it is?"

"Sadly," Wu started off. "It was the Sacred Flute that you four carelessly lost."

"No! No! No! No!" Jay argued. "We didn't lose it; Pythor stole it."

"Whatever the case, we have nothing to stop them. We may have stopped them from combining in the past, but they will try again, and one day they will be stronger."

"I've almost reached my full potential!" Cole stated, gloating just a little bit. "And when I become the Green ninja, we won't need any magic flute."

"You, the Green ninja?" Kai asked. He faked a laugh. "Don't make me laugh."

"I thought it was decided that I become the Green ninja." Zane lied, hoping it would work.

Jay laughed and put a hand on Zane's shoulder. "The only thing decided about you is that you're weird."

They all argued briefly until Lloyd noticed the package Wu had. "What's in the box, uncle?"

"Your new uniforms." Wu stated as he slid the box to the middle of the table.

Kara almost lost her hearing as Kai, Cole, Zane, and Jay all stood up and shrieked. It sounded like a girl got a new car for her sixteenth birthday. Even Kara would never freak out that badly. Actually, she sort of felt sad that she never received her own ninja suit for her elemental power. Most of the time, she controlled water. She had just a touch of power in each other element. Kara never really knew how powerful she was because she was never able to control it.

After the four ninja picked up their new suits, there was only one left in. It was colored a very light blue, almost clear. Kara could tell that the material was waterproof and meant for swimming. It looked like the others, except it was made for a girl. She couldn't believe it. There was something made specifically for her!

"Is that for me?" Lloyd asked, pulling the box toward him. "It looks kinda girly."

"I'm sorry Lloyd." Wu apologized, closing the box. "This isn't for you."

"Who's it for?" Cole asked, trying to open the lid. He caught a quick glimpse of the aqua colored suit. "Lloyd's right. It looks like it's for a girl."

"Was it supposed to be for that _other_ ninja?" Kai asked, remembering the girl who had helped him complete the training course. "I don't think she's coming back, and I prefer it that way."

"Why?" Zane asked. "She could probably help us defeat the serpentine. And she did help you learn spinjitzu Kai."

"Yeah, and then she left us to deal with the Skulkin all on our own!" Kai crossed his arms like a five year old. "She probably can't handle all the pressure."

"I doubt she would help us either." Cole scoffed, crossing his arms too. "If she didn't help us before why would she help us now?"

"It took me weeks to complete the training course!" Jay snapped. "And she only laughed when I got hit in the face!"

"Wait, what are we talking about?" Lloyd asked, confused on why everyone was yelling. "Is there another ninja?"

"Yes Lloyd." Wu answered. He pointed toward his four current students. "Unlike all of you, she could not control the power inside of her and did not have a weapon to help. Unfortunately, she has left."

"Maybe we can find her." Zane suggested. "The four of us could teach her to control her power."

"She cannot be found unless she wants to. Sadly, she seems to have disappeared, and doesn't want to be found."

_I want to be found! I'm right here!_ Kara thought.

The alarm sounded through the bounty, making everyone rush to the bridge to see what the serpentine were up to. Wu picked up the box, only for it to be snatched by the dog. She ran onto the deck, with the old man tailing her, and to the lower deck of the bounty. Kara pawed a door open and placed the box on a bed. It was an empty room that she was saving for herself if she ever found a way to change back.

When Wu entered the room, he saw the aqua suit lying on the bed and smiled. Kara was something special. Even though she couldn't control her powers, she was never in a bad mood for more than ten minutes. She always found a way to make her life happy. Kara didn't hate anyone; she only got a bit irritated with them at the most.

While the ninja went to an amusement park to stop the serpentine, Nya followed in a clunky suit, bringing Wu with her. Lloyd was left on the bounty alone. Well, not completely alone. Joanna was still there and she planned to watch him for the time the ninja would be gone. She followed the boy everywhere, but he didn't mind. It kind of felt like someone was making sure that he was okay and not hurt. Lloyd missed his dad.

Lloyd started playing with the training equipment on the deck, hitting the punching bag over and over again. Joanna sat by the mast, watching the way he kicked and hit. His punches were actually decent, but could use a little more strength. When the boy kicked, he twisted his hips and went back into the position he was in before. Lloyd could have the potential to be a great ninja, and he probably had no previous training.

Suddenly, Lloyd stopped having fun. He sat down by the edge of the bounty and started sniffling. Joanna walked toward him, seeing his cheeks streaked with tears. He was crying. Lloyd probably hurt something really bad while he was playing, but he wasn't holding his leg or elbow in pain. He just sat there sniveling. Joanna pushed her nose against his skin, trying to see him.

Lloyd managed to bare a smile. "Thanks Joanna."

The dog whimpered again, trying to persuade Lloyd to explain why he was sad.

"I miss my dad. He's been gone so long. Why didn't he take me with him? Why did he even leave? It's not fair! Everyone has dinner with their mom and dad all the time but I can't even say I have a mom _or_ dad!"

Kara had the idea of how Lloyd felt. He missed his dad so much to the point where it hurt. To make things worse, the boy felt like he wasn't loved because his dad left him here instead of taking Lloyd with him. Kara remembered the car accident that killed her sister and parents. She missed everyone, especially her dad. He always made sure that she wasn't scared by saying what he always did: "heaven is watching over you". Garmadon was farther away from Lloyd than death could ever bring. Evil coursed through his veins and wouldn't let him become good.

Lloyd stroked the dog's head and looked at her. She kind of made him feel better by just sitting there. Kara looked up, her eyes sparkling a deep blue color. The little boy laughed and rubbed his eyes. He knew that the dog didn't have blue eyes. Only Kara could make her eyes change colors, and a lot of the time she didn't even know when it happened.

"You kinda remind me of Kara." Lloyd stated.

Kara's eyes widen. She jumped up and barked. Lloyd was surprised at this and would've fallen off the ship if it weren't for the handles.

"Joanna, what's wrong?!" Lloyd tried to calm the dog down, not knowing why she was freaking out. Did it have something to do with Kara? "Hey? Do you want me to tell you about Kara?"

The wolf-dog sighed. It was no use. No one would ever believe that a typical, everyday animal was actually a person. It didn't make any sense. Kara could understand human words, but why couldn't she speak them? Whenever she tried to say something, it only came out as barks and whimpers. Joanna sighed and laid by Lloyd, listening to him.

"I met Kara like two years ago," Lloyd started. It was true. The little boy was nine and Kara was ten. "I'm eleven now, and she was just a few months older than me, but we got along pretty well. She sort of understood what it felt like to be without a mom or dad. This was when I was still at Darkley's and we were going to Jamanakai village, like we do every week. We had to go steal things, and to prove that I was truly evil I had to take this girl's money."

That was also true. Kara was the girl Lloyd had to take the money from, but it didn't work out the way it was supposed to.


	7. Chapter 7

**As you probably guess, this chapter is going to explain how Kara met Lloyd! Yay! If you didn't assume that, well, you haven't really lost anything. This chapter is going to be really interesting and important for future chapters so make sure you pay attention.**

**Before I begin, I must tell you just a little about this chapter. I used the song ****_Pompeii_**** in a scene for this chapter. I did not write this song, nor do I claim any properties from it. In my book, this is Bastille's best song ever! Please do not review about me stealing it because I am disclaiming it here and now!**

**Thank you all readers, followers, favoriters, and (reviewers) for leaving a comment!**

**Remember to review…**

**Chapter 7**

**The Day She Met the Boy**

_Kara was winded from walking up all those stairs. Her lungs burned, but she wasn't completely exhausted. She was just out of breath, and after a quick break she could do this again. What could possibly be at the top of this mountain that Sensei Wu was so interested in? The girl thought that she was being taught to become a ninja though she had no idea how it would be done._

_As she neared the top, a wooden door could be seen. It was blocking whatever was behind the wall it was connected to. Kara pushed just a little further, knowing that whatever it was could be worth it. She inhaled deeply at the top and bent over on her knees, trying to catch her breath. The wall seemed to tower over her dramatically; a side effect of going up the mountain._

_Sensei Wu stood by the door for ten minutes, waiting for his student to catch up. Once Kara saw him, her eyebrows furrowed and she looked over her shoulder. Wasn't he still climbing behind her? Kara sighed heavily and collapsed on the stairs, completely dying of heat. Pain pounded against her skull, making her vision seem so blurry._

_Wu laughed to himself. The girl didn't have much endurance. "Come with me, Kara. You can rest in your room."_

_"__Okay." Kara responded. _

_She stood up, stumbling a little bit. She was dizzier than the last time this happened. Kara fell on her knees, completely surrounded by pain. Every once in a while, she would fall over from dizziness after pushing herself a little too hard. But, right now, she felt like she was dying. Her throat and mouth were dry, and she felt like she was going to pass out. Wu immediately reacted._

_"__Kara, what's wrong?"_

_"__My head hurts," she croaked. The pain grew into a hammering. "And I'm really dizzy."_

_Wu knew what was wrong. She was dehydrated. How could she not be drinking enough water? She lived right by a stream. Nevertheless, he quickly ran inside. Kara clutched her head and wailed silently, swallowing to replenish her dry tongue. She couldn't even think without her head bursting into fireworks. _

_After a few minutes, Wu brought her a glass of water and Kara drank the entire thing. Slowly, her headache dwindled into a minor knock every few seconds. Her throat was no longer sticky, and her dizzy vision went away. Kara probably drank ten glasses of water to get rid of the dehydration._

_"__You weren't drinking enough water." Sensei Wu stated, leading her into the monastery._

_Kara scratched the back of her neck. "Oh, yeah I've just been forgetting." She lied. For the past few days she hadn't been drinking water on purpose. To her, water tasted nasty, but it suddenly started tasting sweet after the car accident. She thought that maybe something was wrong with her. "Is this a monastery? Am I supposed to learn to fight here?"_

_"__Not fight; train." Wu opened a door, revealing a room. It had a bed and a dresser right next to it. "This is your room, and I expect you to start training by tomorrow."_

_He closed the door as soon as Kara walked in. She waited until his footsteps ended before sitting on the bed. The girl put down her bag and opened the dresser. It was empty, like she predicted, so she placed the ninja suit in it. Kara lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, breathing in rhythm._

_Why was she even here? Kara wasn't anything special. She was a stubborn girl who lost her family in a car accident. Even when her parents were alive she didn't really treat them like they were. Both of them usually worked seven days of the week and days off were usually spent sleeping. Kara and her sister watched themselves, cooked for themselves, and entertained each other. They even helped each other in school if they needed to._

_Kara missed her sister. They were best friends and did everything together. She didn't have any friends at school because all the other kids thought she was weird. But when she got home, Kara could rely that her sister loved her. They were a true example of what siblings should be like._

_…_

_It was Wednesday. Like any other day of the week, the kids were awakened by some prank pulled by someone else. This time, it was a red-haired boy who woke everyone up by using an air horn over the intercom. Nobody hit their heads on the top of the bunk or hysterically rolled off the bed in surprise, though they were annoyed. _

_However, one little boy was scared out of his mind. He hit his head on the wood and fell off his bed. The others paid him no heed, thinking that he was just another one to come and go. Lloyd rubbed his head and stood up. Today was the day. If he was able to do an evil deed in Jamanakai village today, he was in. Everyone would accept that the son of Lord Garmadon was truly evil._

_Lloyd sighed and got ready with everyone else. He found that the cloths he planned to wear today were covered with ants, so he had to wear a uniform like everyone else. Today was going to be his first day, anyway. Lloyd would have to put it on later, and everyone else was wearing the same thing, so he sucked it up. The boy walked down to eat breakfast, seeing the milk mixed with the orange juice just for him. He was going to be so happy after he completed initiation. No one was going to bother him anymore._

_Kara put on her shoes and walked outside. She had just finished morning training, which had been a routine for a couple days, and was planning to go down to Jamanakai to read some books at the library. She might be able to check out some books if she could get a card, but those things probably cost money. Actually, Kara wanted to read some more scrolls. One of them might tell her about the scar on her wrist._

_Kara spotted Sensei Wu also leaving. "Where are you going?"_

_"__I'm going down to Jamanakai village to get some tea."_

_"__I can get it for you. I'm actually going down there already."_

_"__I did have other things to do today, so that would be very helpful."_

_"__It's not a problem."_

_Kara carried his teapot with him to the village. It wasn't that far from the monastery, but the climb up is what she had to worry about. The girl visited the library first, finding that the scrolls were confiscated by the Ninjago City Museum. Kara heard about the huge city, but didn't really think much of it. Now she thought even less of its museum._

_It was hard to find the tea shop since it was in an alleyway. Kara found that a little creepy, but entered. Inside felt warm and safe. A man greeted her, but went back to his magazine. The counter was on the right wall, and the other three were covered by containers of tea. There couldn't be less than fifty different kinds of the drink just in this shop._

_"__That's a lot of tea." Kara whispered, walking along them._

_Which one does Sensei Wu want? Kara looked at them, noticing that a lot of them had labels that told what they tasted like. Sensei didn't tell her how it tasted, so she was just going to have to guess. It kind of smelt like cinnamon, and despite how weird it sounded, she needed to smell the other teas. Some of the containers didn't label cinnamon as an ingredient, so she quickly dismissed them._

_Kara came across a small section. None of the containers stated the ingredients or what they tasted like. Just the name. She thought it was weird. Kara caught a whiff of cinnamon coming from the one labeled Traveler's Tea. It made sense. The little teapot Sensei Wu always carried around was small and seemed like it was made to travel. So, Kara filled the pot with the tea._

_Lloyd just arrived at Jamanakai with all the other boys from his boarding school. They had to decide what his evil deed would be. Gene, the boy who had used the air horn over the intercom, was trying to find something he knew Lloyd would quit on. He knew that the boy wasn't cut out for it._

_Gene spotted a girl walking into an alley. Even she could probably take Lloyd out, so it was a natural choice. The red-haired boy elbowed the guy next to him, pointing to the girl who walked into a shop. The boys snickered and notified their friends. They all glanced toward Lloyd and nodded to him. He quickly came into the circle._

_"__Okay Lloyd," Gene said with his annoying voice. "A girl just went into that shop over there and you have to go steal whatever she has."_

_A girl? Lloyd's evil was seriously being tested by a girl? "Okay. And I have to bring it back to the school by sundown, right?"_

_"__That's the rule." One boy commented as they walked off. "We'll be waiting."_

_Once they were gone, Lloyd became nervous. What if they chose the girl to show that he wasn't good enough? What if he really wasn't evil enough to do it? But, Lloyd realized that they had no idea what she had. If he wasn't able to do it, he could just find something out of a garbage can and say that was all she had. His plan was fool proof._

_He went into the alley and through the shop door, seeing the girl he was told about pouring tea into a pot. Lloyd approached her cautiously, his heart pumping. Was he really going to rob this girl for some stupid school? It was all he had, though. His father was evil and wasn't coming home, and he never met his mother. What would they want him to do?_

_Kara turned around, smacking clear into another person. She dropped the teapot. Lloyd stepped back after being bumped into, only to trip over his own foot. In a second, Kara grabbed the teapot just before it hit the ground and wrapped her fingers around the boy's wrist. She pulled him up before he fell completely over. Lloyd was astounded by her quick reactions._

_"__Sorry about that." She apologized, letting go of Lloyd's hand. "I didn't see you there."_

_"__Nah, it's okay." Lloyd said, forgetting about his mission in the girl's blue eyes. "How did you react so fast? I wouldn't have caught that teapot."_

_"__Oh, I don't know." Kara sighed. She was never able to do that before. Maybe something was wrong with her. "I'm Kara, by the way."_

_"__I'm Lloyd."_

_They stood there in silence for a long time. Kara didn't notice before, but the shop was playing music. As the song ended, a new one started playing. Kara smiled in recognition. She remembered this song; she used to listen to it with her sister all the time. Whenever they thought their lives couldn't get worse, they listened to it to cheer up._

_"__But if you close your eyes," Kara whispered, trying to hide a smile._

_She looked at the ground, getting just a little bit louder. It was loud enough for Lloyd to hear, and he was surprised that she started singing to it. Kara appeared to him as shy, not bold. But, she was absorbing so much happiness out of this one song. It was for the year of unhappiness she had. Kara sang as the song progressed, knowing each and every word._

_Lloyd knew this song too. It helped him feel better when the others at Darkley's were picking on him. It was actually his favorite song, but he never listened to it in front of the other guys. They thought it was girly to listen to music, but Lloyd never thought that._

_"__Oh, where do we begin?" Lloyd smiled when Kara looked at him in surprise. He was a little embarrassed after she didn't smile, but the grin crept up on her face. "The rubble or our sins?_

_"__And the walls kept tumbling down." Kara sang, not able to keep the smile off her face. "In the city that we looove." _

_They smiled at each other the entire time, singing until the song ended. They were out of breath, but it was the most fun the two of them had in a year. Even Lloyd never expected to have this much fun with a friend of the same gender. It was nice to know someone who had the same interests as you. _

_Kara laughed. "That was fun, but I have to go now."_

_"__Aw, that's too bad." Lloyd sighed, hopping that he would have just a little bit more fun. "I guess I have to go to. It's getting close to sunset. But I'll be here next Wednesday. Maybe, maybe we could do something, like go to the arcade."_

_"__Sounds…nice."_

_Kara walked out of the store with a goodbye, heading back toward the monastery. She was careful not to spill the tea as she walked up the steps. And this time she included some breaks so she wouldn't become dizzy. But, the whole time she felt this nice feeling inside her heart. It felt…amazing to have friend._

_When the girl walked through the monastery doors, it was silent. She yelled for Sensei Wu, but nothing was heard. He must've left for the "other things" he had to do today. Kara walked into the kitchen and placed the teapot on the table. She eyed it, starting to head to her room. But she stopped. What did it taste like?_

_Her curiosity got the better of her. Kara grabbed a cup from out of the cupboard and filled it with the cinnamon scented tea. After a drink, her throat started to burn. She coughed loudly. What was in that Traveler's Tea?_

_Lloyd watched as his first real friend walked away. There was no telling if he was going to see her again, but there was hope. He looked at the sky, seeing the sun hanging above the horizon. The boy thought that something was missing. Did he forget something in the shop? He went back in and checked, but there was nothing. Maybe there was something he forgot to do._

_He forgot that he was supposed to steal from the girl. Lloyd kicked a garbage can and yelled in frustration. The can toppled over, spilling its contents. There was a small, pocket sized doll missing an eye and a few pennies. He sighed in relief, picking up the items. Lloyd started running. If he ran the whole way he might make it on time._


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks to all you readers, followers, favoriters, and reviewers for caring enough to tell me how awesome or terrible my chapter was.**

**Remember to review!**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Through the Portal**

* * *

Pythor united all the serpentine tribes in the City of Ouroborus. Lloyd, in hopes to find out what they were planning, dressed up like a snake and followed them. He was caught and taken prisoner. The ninja had tried to save him, but only ended up in Pythor's game of Samurai versus ninja. In the end, Kai found out that it was Nya who was actually the Samurai.

All the ninja stared at a stop watch. "Ten minutes!" Kai yelled. "This guy isn't human."

Kara rolled her eyes. Sure, holding your breath underwater for ten minutes is amazing, but she could do it so much longer. Heck, she could breathe underwater for much longer than that. Still, she had to remind herself that they weren't her, and that they could control their powers. Kara had yet to figure that one out. How can someone control their powers?

Zane resurfaced, finding the others cheering for him. "Did I break the record?"

"You destroyed it!" Kai yelled.

Jay thought of something. "Okay, okay. Is anyone else thinking what I'm thinking? We've been training for so long, I don't think we can get any better. Just think of all we've accomplished!"

Kara heard a noise. It sounded like someone dropped something. She knew that Nya was in the bridge and that the four ninja were training, so it must've come from Sensei Wu. She left, walking down the small stairs and into Sensei's room. He was looking at the katana that she retrieved out of the burning monastery. It reminded Wu of his mistake. It reminded Wu, that his brother was suffering because of him. Of course, Kara felt bad too. Garmadon saved her from that bite.

The four ninja barged in, arguing about who does the most push-ups in the morning. Sensei Wu was still thinking, and barely heard them. Kara growled, but they ignored her.

"Sensei, what does true potential even look…"

They didn't realize that Sensei was deep in thought, and immediately folded their hands. "Our apologizes, Sensei. We've interrupted you."

Wu sighed and put the katana in its case. "I'm sorry I have been distant lately. My mind has been…elsewhere since Lloyd has gone missing. What can I help you with?"

Kara knew he was thinking about something. Wu was planning to go somewhere, and somewhere familiar if he was bringing that katana with him. Kara was going. She made up her mind right there. Just in case, she wanted to go to make sure that her sensei didn't do anything stupid. Not that he did, but sometimes things clouded his judgment.

"We were wondering," Cole started. "What if we've done enough training? What if we've reached our full potential? What if we're ready?"

Kara wanted to laugh so hard. She could've taken all of them down with a blindfold over her eyes and both hands tied behind her back. If she had hands, that is. And if she was human.

"You may have reach peak physical condition, but you have yet to reach your inner potential. In each and every one of us, there are obstacles that hold us back. Only when you conquer that fear, will your heart be free. Only then will you reach your true potential. Only then will we have a fighting chance against the Great Devourer."

"There's more to the Great Devourer than you let on." Zane stated. "Isn't there, Sensei?"

Wu sighed. "I too have obstacles in my heart. There's a story I've never told you."

Kara remembered this story all too well. It hurt her to think about it, because it hurt Wu to think about it. Because of that snake, Garmadon turned evil. Because of that snake, Lloyd was without a father. The female ninja wanted to turn Garmadon back, but it was too late.

"It is the snake that took my brother away from me." Wu sighed.

"So it was the Great Devourer that turned Garmadon evil." Kai stated for his own reassurance.

Wu shook his head at himself. "It was all my fault." He closed the case for the katana. "You four have finished your training. You must now focus on stopping Pythor from collecting the four silver Fang Blades. Never lose focus on the obstacles in your heart that stop you from true greatness. Find your true potential."

"But how will we do that, Sensei?" Zane asked.

"That is for each of you to discover. Now I must go one a journey, alone."

"Where are you going?" Jay asked.

Wu was going to a realm of darkness, but he couldn't tell his students. "To a place you cannot follow."

"If you're going for Lloyd," Cole started, sort of believing that he was. "The City of Ouroborus is filled with hundreds of serpentine. You'll never do it alone!"

"I am going to find someone who can be of aid. The serpentine have united and we need all the help we can get."

Kara was confused. Who was he going to get? Misako would've been Kara's first thought, but she could really protect herself, let along fight off deadly snakes. There was obviously Garmadon, but he could be almost impossible to find and she knew Wu wasn't stupid enough to…

The katana. He was going to find Garmadon and bring him back. Kara liked that idea. Though he was pure evil and would probably steal the Golden Weapons, she knew he was still in there. The Garmadon Kara knew was still inside his evil filled heart. She hoped that everything would turn out okay.

When the bounty landed on a steep mountain side, Wu held his bo staff and cased katana. He stepped off the ship, listening to his students goodbyes. Jay waved as the bounty started flying away. Kara was still on it, and she wasn't planning on staying. She ran, barking, and jumped over the rails. The dog hit the ground hard, but still okay and trotted up to Wu.

"You shouldn't have followed me." He stated. Kara barked and continued walking. Wu actually thought of her. The dog acted so stubborn just like the girl. "Fine. You can come."

I wasn't asking for your permission, Kara thought.

They walked for a seriously long time. Despite being a wolf and able to run longer than this, Kara legs were sore. Was Garmadon really that far away? She ignored her pain for quite a while and tried to think of other things. But, soon, they came across a forest. It was Riley's forest.

A wolf howled from the depths of the shadowy thicket. Wu glanced over, preparing his staff to fight. The wolves in this area were known to be quite vicious when someone entered their territory. However, only a ghost-like wolf stepped out. Wu recognized the creature as Riley, Kara's old friend. He smiled and continued walking as Joanna walked up to her.

"Riley!" Kara exclaimed. "I've wanted to visit but I can't right now. I'm kinda, busy."

"I know." Riley answered. "And I found you because I needed to tell you something."

"Can I turn human again?"

Riley shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. But it's coming soon. I can sense it."

"Joanna!"

"Sorry, I have to go." Kara apologized before catching up with Wu. "Thank you!"

…

Kara had followed Wu to the tea shop on the outskirts of Ninjago city and watched him purchase Traveler's Tea. She already didn't like what was about to happen. After climbing a high mountain, she was tired. Wu lit a fire and meditated for a couple hours. She sat there and thought.

Not soon enough did he finally move. He poured the tea all over the fire, making it spark into a blue color. She was praying that Garmadon wasn't in one of the realms of darkness. Kara knew how scary it was in one of those places and didn't plan on going, but she had to. People do crazy and stupid things sometimes, and she wasn't about to let her sensei get away with it.

A purple spark made a zapping noise, making the dog jump back in surprise. Kara almost fell off the mountain! The spark turned into a portal, and the dog's ears fell back against her head. It was going to be a bumpy ride. Wu looked unsurely at the ground, but walked in. Kara bounded after him, not slowing down in time. The portal disappeared, leaving the fire glowing by itself atop the mountain.

After only a few seconds of spinning around in the place between worlds, Wu was thrown into the realm. The staff and katana weren't handled with caution, but weren't treated any differently than an airline would treat them. Kara was thrown a lot farther than Wu, hitting a small tower of boulders. She fell onto mud, only to have one of the rocks fall off.

The rock tilted and slipped off the tower. It missed, but caused the others to fall with it. One landed on Kara's ankle, completely cutting off the flow of blood. She covered her mouth with her hands so she wouldn't scream. Right now, it felt like her bone had been crushed.

Wait…hands? Kara looked at herself, seeing her old black ninja suit still on. She pulled back the hood and felt the soft, braided hair between her fingers. Sure, she was covered in mud, but she was back to normal! Kara was human once again!


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm back again and it looks like Kara is back as well. She is no longer stuck as a dog which is a really good thing. Or not a good thing if some of you don't like happy endings.**

**After this chapter, the coming ones will be a lot longer and pretty much follow the anime storyline. But, with Kara they will have a lot of changes and some past ones just focusing on her. I will also update less because they take longer to write. Don't worry! I type for hours at a time, especially with this story so the updates will most likely be a few days longer.**

**Thank you for reading and remember to review!**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**The Journey Home**

* * *

Kara tugged at her leg, trying to pry it from under the rock. A sharp pain pierced her skin, and she decided it might be better not to pull. Instead, she used her uninjured, left foot to push the boulder off. Instant relief traveled through the veins in her foot. At least now she could feel it, but walking was another question. Her muscles were probably distorted which would make it very hard to even tolerate moving it. But how else was she supposed to walk?

"Hello, brother. What took you so long?" Garmadon's evil voice reached Kara's ears. Her head shot up and she saw the older brother with his back facing Wu. "I see you brought the katana from our youth. Funny. You never had the courage to cross the temple wall yet now you have the courage to come here?"

"Why have you come to this place of darkness?" Wu asked.

"A place as wicked as me." Garmadon stated. "Don't you see? Here, I feel at home. Back in Ninjago, I was physically unable to hold all four spinjitzu weapons at once, but here, dark magic has made me stronger. And what was impossible, is now possible!"

When Garmadon turned around, he revealed an extra set of hands. Wu was surprised and disappointed to see this. "You came here only to possess the Weapons of Spinjitzu?"

"Yes, brother. And I refuse to let you or your petty ninja to stop me!"

A scythe shot out of the mud next to Kara and flew to one of Garmadon's hands. It seemed sort of like magic, but then she remembered there was dark magic in this realm. Garmadon charged at Wu, swinging all four weapons in his hands, but the younger brother slid under them, the katana firmly in his grip. Wu blocked several swings from his brother. Garmadon took it up a level and swung all of them at once. Wu held them back with the katana, but wasn't strong enough to take the strength of his older brother. He was sent tumbling down a hill into the mud. Garmadon quickly followed, but his brother pulled spinjitzu.

Kara rolled out of the way as the ground shook. A creature made entirely of mud emerged from the spot where the girl just was. Two more came out to join the first. They all groggily made their way toward Wu, who tried to use spinjitzu in defense. He knocked two down, but they only got back up.

Wu tried to communicate with his brother. "I did not come here to…"

"You will pay for your visit!" Garmadon interrupted, not knowing the importance of Wu's words. "Mud monsters combine!"

The creatures all combined, trapping Wu in the sticky mud. He tried to get out, but he sank in deeper the more he struggled. Kara pushed herself onto her feet. She stepped and an incredible pain shot her ankle. The girl fell back down and was forced to watch. Her ankle was in too bad of a condition for her to place weight on it without feeling pain.

"You don't belong here, old fool!" Garmadon snapped. Kara could see it on the inside. The real Garmadon was begging to be let out to save Wu. "You should've known better than to try to stop me!"

Wu struggled more, but his arms were trapped. "I did not come to stop you. I came to tell you, to warn you…" He was enveloped by the mud, unable to breathe. Wu was able to pull his head out to say one last thing. "Your son's in danger."

"Lloyd," Garmadon gasped.

Garmadon ran to his brother's help. He grabbed Wu's hand and pulled as hard as he could. The younger brother fell into the mud, gasping for air. Kara smiled. He was in there. His heart wasn't fully consumed by evil, not yet. Without even knowing, he was fighting it. Garmadon still cared about something. Why else would he save his brother?

"What has my son gotten himself into?" Garmadon asked, standing over Wu who was lying on the ground.

"He has opened a can of worms I fear I will never be able to close."

"You mean we will never be able to close." Garmadon held a hand out to Wu. "Get up. You can tell me more on the way. How did you find me?"

"Traveler's tea." Wu answered. "But I used it all and now have no way back."

"There is only one way to get back to Ninjago, but to do that we must pass through the Mountain of Madness. It is a long and dangerous journey."

Wu didn't care. For now, he had his brother back. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"We should get going, before it really gets dark."

Wu called several times for Joanna, but she didn't come running. He didn't pay much attention to it since she usually went off on her own. The dog always came back, though. She was free to go wherever she wanted, so it was a big question why she chose to stay. Garmadon thought it was very stupid to own a pet. You give them everything and they give nothing in return.

The mud monsters, who obeyed Garmadon because he used to be king of the Underworld, now turned to the girl hidden behind them. She was on the ground, covered in mud, and her ankle wasn't going easy on her. Their master said nothing about Kara, mostly because he didn't even know she was here, so they could have fun with the mortal.

Kara saw her predicament. "Oh joy. What am I going to do?" she whispered.

She wanted to call Wu for help, but any noise could make those things go nuts. To make things better, the ninja couldn't walk without hurting herself. Kara already knew this was going to end badly, whether she could walk or not. She slowly moved until she was on her left leg, keeping all weight off her right leg. Now that she was standing, Kara could see just how tall and frightening these creatures were. With luck, they might not kill her.

Something smacked her hard from behind. Kara tumbled head first into the mud, landing on her back. Sharp claws gently grabbed her right leg, resulting in a stab of pain, and picked her up. They weren't trying to hurt her, which was good, but they were probably going to do something. Kara stared at the monster that picked her up. She half smiled as she was hanging upside-down. The blood was already rushing to her head.

Kara was thrown into the air for a good five seconds, spinning around hopelessly. The ground rushed at her quickly, and she thought for sure that she was going to hit it. But another mud monster seized its hand around her entire body, leaving only her head free. The girl was thrown again, hitting the creature's belly. She bounced and landed on the hard, muddy ground. Her ankle crumbled under the weight, forcing her onto the ground.

As the creatures made a noise somewhat like a laugh, Kara was already dizzy. Using the little orientation she had, she yelled, "Help!"

Wu and Garmadon had only been walking for five minutes. Garmadon noticed that the mud monsters weren't following him, like they normally did. Instead, when he turned around, he saw them gathered in a small circle throwing some mud back and forth. Now that really wasn't right. The mud monsters didn't play with anything except people. Normally they threw the humans to each other until it stopped being fun.

Wu saw his brother look back. "What is it?"

"The mud monsters," Garmadon answered almost immediately. "They're acting different."

"It looks like they're throwing mud at each other." Wu stated, turning in the same direction Garmadon was. "Is that not normal?"

"No. They usually throw around the other people that come down here."

Wu had a thought. What if they were tossing around Joanna? They were likely to kill the poor thing. But, an even worse thought came to his head. What if Kara was down here? What if she wasn't good anymore? Maybe that's why she couldn't be found. Maybe the female ninja ran to this place of darkness.

Garmadon shook his head. Why did he care? "Let's keep moving. It's probably nothing."

While Wu didn't agree with his brother, he followed. He knew nothing of this place and was basically just following Garmadon around. For all he knew, the older brother was going to kill him. But Wu trusted Garmadon. Like Kara, he believed that the real him was still in there.

"_Help_." the voice was faint, but loud enough to hear.

Without even thinking, Garmadon took off running. He had this weird feeling that something was happening. And it kept poking his chest until the curiosity got the better of him. Wu even followed, determined that it was Kara. Who else could be down here?

Kara was thrown again, landing on her right ankle. This time, she screamed. It hurt even worse than something hot on her skin. The mud monsters just laughed again and continued trying to grab her. She was forced to stand and jump away from their hands. All of Kara's weight was depending on her left leg at this point. The creatures got just a little smarter. They decided to surround her so that she had no way to ruin their fun.

The ninja had no choice. "You did it once before, you can do it again."

She inhaled deeply and exhaled, completely forgetting about her injured ankle in the adrenaline. Kara's feet touched the ground for only a second. A small, black tornado took her place. It moved too quickly for the mud monsters to process. One by one, they were knocked down by the force of Kara's kicks. Her spinjitzu was near flawless.

There was no explosion. She didn't lose control of the movement or energy. She didn't go flying off in some random direction. She did it. She really did it. Kara just pulled spinjitzu. She was never able to do that before, especially since she couldn't control her powers. The uncontrollable power usually put into forming the tornado is what made it explode most of the time.

Wu and Garmadon saw the mud monsters shift. They were way farther than when they were playing with the mud. Suddenly, one fell over with a black tornado just jumping off of it. It quickly ran into the others before appearing as a person. Kara stood with an amazed look on her face. Wu couldn't believe what he was seeing. First, he had just found where his best student had been hiding for the past two months, and she had just learned to use spinjitzu! What was holding her back before?

Kara wondered: if she could do spinjitzu, maybe she could try controlling her other powers. Her arms became a few degrees warmer than the rest of her body. She could feel the heat rising and rising as she had practiced before. The mud monsters came right back up and were angry. They charged toward the girl, ready to body slam her to the ground with the intention of killing.

Wu slid down the hill and into the mud, just about to pull spinjitzu. Kara ran and jumped, punching the ground with tremendous force. All the heat left her arms, pulsing through the area. It completely dried the mud and the mud monsters. They were completely frozen in place, dead as a door knob. Wu was knocked over by both the force and how hot that wind was. When he looked up, he saw Kara standing and breathing heavily.

She fell onto her back, holding her head. "Yes," she whispered, not believing what she just did. "_Yes_! Yes, yes, yes!"

"Kara?"

Kara sat up upon hearing her name. She saw Sensei Wu approaching her, as if not believing it. The ninja smiled and jumped to her feet. Instantly, she hugged Wu. It felt so nice to be back to normal and back with her family. And it would feel even nicer when she got back home. All Kara wanted was to go back home.

"Kara? How did you get here?" Wu asked. He couldn't believe that she would come down here. "Why did you come here of all places?"

"I got here the same way you did." Kara answered. "And I followed you here, so that you didn't do anything…"

Garmadon walked up behind his brother, seeing Kara. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Kara answered, sending him a smile. "Glad to see that you're not pure evil."

"What do you mean you followed me here?" Wu asked, completely forgetting about Garmadon. "I came here alone."

"Not totally alone. You had Joanna." The female ninja smiled, getting a confused face from Wu. "It was Riley."

He remembered the wolf. "I see, but that doesn't explain why you didn't come back."

Kara looked at Garmadon with a raised eyebrow. "Since he got out of the Underworld while I was still a wolf, he messed up the order of nature for a while."

"Glad I did." Garmadon smirked, crossing his arms. "We should get going. Word of those monsters being beaten by a mortal will get around quickly."

Like before, Garmadon seemed to be a step ahead of Wu since he knows everything about this place. Kara knew nothing at all, so likely she was behind both brothers. She took one step and pain sliced the muscles in her ankle. The girl lifted her right foot off the ground. The adrenaline in her body had worn off and now it felt like her ankle was being ripped apart.

Kara had to ignore it. She just had to walk like a normal person would. Her hurt ankle could get her unwanted sympathy. It wasn't that she didn't want sympathy, it was that it bothered her. Kara hated it when other people thought she could do things when she was injured. So, she walked. Her ankle burned after only a few steps, but she kept going. She did her best to hide the limp.

Garmadon was thinking about what Kara said. "Kara." The ninja forced herself to walk faster, walking in the gap between the brothers. "What did you mean?"

"What did I mean about what?" Kara asked back. She was barely able to hear him because of the pressure on her ankle.

"You said that you were glad to see that I wasn't pure evil. What was that supposed to mean?"

Kara smiled and looked at the ground. "There's a spot deep inside your heart that the Devourer's venom hasn't penetrated."

"Can't imagine why you'd think that."

"You saved your brother, didn't you?" Kara glared at him. "If you were gone, why would you do that?"

Kara did her best to walk ahead. It probably didn't sound like it to Wu and Garmadon, but she was pretty mad. Her ankle was killing her, but the girl was too stubborn to slow down. Something dropped down in front of her, dripping ooze on the rock path. Kara stopped to look at it, and moved around it. She was sure that they had to keep following this path until a scary looking mountain came into view.

Lord Garmadon thought about it. He put Wu in danger, but he did save his brother. That was only because Lloyd was in trouble. He didn't want Lloyd hurt or scared, even though he was far away.

Garmadon tried to change the subject. "What kind of trouble has Lloyd gotten himself into?"

"I'm afraid to say the worst kind." Wu answered uneasily. "He has opened the serpentine tombs and now that they have united, Pythor is trying to find the four silver Fang Blades to awaken the Great Devourer."

"The very snake that turned me evil?" Garmadon was surprised. Even he wouldn't do that. "Why would Lloyd open the tombs?"

Kara rolled her eyes. The answer was obvious. "To be like you." she answered soullessly.

Garmadon did his best to ignore how Kara answered. "I never wanted him to be. Thank you for watching over him."

"You may think of me as your enemy," Wu said. "But I was once your brother."

Kara's foot hit an uprooted plant. Her ankle twisted and the pain made her fall down to one knee. She closed her eyes tight and bit the inside of her cheeks to keep from screaming. The pain dulled enough for Kara to breathe again. She rolled the bottom of her pant leg up to examine her ankle.

Wu, seeing that Kara fell and wasn't getting back up right away, went to her side. She was looking at her right ankle. He knew that she was limping, but didn't say anything. The skin above Kara's foot looked back. It was swollen and colored red and purple. The girl poked it once and endured ten seconds of major pain. She didn't even touch it that hard.

"What happened?" Garmadon asked when he saw how bad it was. "Was it the mud monsters?"

Kara appreciated the concern and how they _didn't_ offer any help. She hated accepting help from others, and was glad they remembered that. "Nope. When I came through the portal, I kinda knocked a boulder on myself."

"All you have to do is make it up the mountain." Garmadon said, pointing up.

The mountain wasn't that steep, but had a lot of rocky areas which could put Kara in danger. The very top looked like a volcano and was glowing with a bright blue aura. It seemed pretty dangerous. It looked like a very easy place to get rid of someone for about…forever.

"The only way back to Ninjago is through there?" Wu asked uneasily. He looked at Kara who was questioning her abilities. "I don't think you'll be able to walk up there."

"Oh, I'm walking." Kara reassured. She stood up and continued limping. "Whether it kills me or not."

Wu sighed. She was always so stubborn.

…

They all trudged up the mountain. Kara's ankle was pulsating with pain, but she didn't complain. Ironically, she was ahead than Wu and Garmadon. She was determined not to look weak. They were both in the back while she was almost halfway up. Kara stopped, looking up at the dark sky. She waited for the other two to catch up, not really knowing if something was wrong or not.

"I'm not the only one who sees a red moon, right?" Kara asked.

"I had hoped we would've reached the summit before the moon had risen." Garmadon stated. "The cracklings never miss a midnight snack."

"Lovely," Kara sighed.

"What is this place?" Wu asked. "There's no such thing in Ninjago.

"Not all places exist to be found, brother." Garmadon said, starting to feel the ground shake. "Sometimes, one must live in the dark to truly see the light."

Rocks of all shapes and sizes tumbled past their feet and made the ground tremble. Bunches of them came together to form arms, legs, and heads. They all joined to a huge bolder to form creatures of massive size. Kara's eyes widened. She hated this place and wanted to go back home.

One of them grabbed her, crushing her ribs. It threw her down the mountain, trying to get rid of her. Kara quickly caught the edge of a rock, scratching her arms in the slide. It tore through her black ninja suit, but she didn't care. This one wasn't of any importance. Now, Kara was the ninja of water. She had a new one waiting for her.

She pulled herself back up the mountain with ease, seeing another crackling grab Sensei Wu and throw him on the ground. Kara ran to help, but Garmadon hit the beast away with his swords. They both ran up the mountain, but were quickly surrounded by several of the rock monsters.

"Just like old times?" Wu asked.

"Just like old times." Garmadon agreed.

Kara waved her fingers separately. Water was drawn from the earth and joined together into a single mass. It took on the shape of a snake and slithered toward the rock creatures. In a flash, it wrapped around one of them and emitted a loud hiss. She clenched her hand in a quick motion, and the water snake pierced clean through the boulder. The rest of the rocks fell to the ground in response.

The brothers fought side by side, defeating several cracklings. Kara helped tremendously with her new found power. Her mind formed clear ideas, and no thought was required to fight. They all pulled spinjitzu. The gold, dark purple, and black tornadoes completely destroyed the last of the rock creatures. They were all breathing heavily by the time everything was calm.

"That was cute," Kara laughed through her panting. "That was really cute."

"What was?" Wu asked

Kara gestured to the brothers. "You guys. You were fighting like brothers."

"Whatever," Garmadon said rudely. "The vortex back to Ninjago is over that hill."

After another short climb, Kara looked over the ridge. The vortex was underwater, but that didn't bother her one bit. It was the swirling and loud hiss that it was making. She stepped back. Was this going to be painful, or possibly life-threatening?

"Are you sure that's the only way back?" Kara asked. "It looks really, really deadly."

"It's the only way." Garmadon reassured.

Kara inhaled and jumped off the rock, hitting the water smoothly. Wu fell in soon after, followed by Garmadon. Like before, she was thrown around by the vortex. She kept her eyes closed tightly, not really wanting to see what was going on. In an instant, she was spit out onto the ground surrounded by blue flames.


End file.
